This course examines the concept of "horror" in its many forms and the ways in which horror has been used to achieve a variety of goals in areas as diverse as the arts, advertising, politics and religion. Students will be introduced to academic definitions and discussions of horror as it applies to varied realms of human behavior—from the psychology of horror as the basis for wartime propaganda and protest to horror as a stimulus for cathartic entertainment in popular literature and film.
Source materials examined may include historical reportage and journalism, literature (poetry and drama to popular fiction to graphic novels), visual arts (painting and sculpture to modern illustration and electronic media), film (both documentary and genre entertainment), television, advertising (political and religious rhetoric to Halloween commercials), and even fashion and product marketing.