Course Times: Monday through Friday, 1:00-3:30, in EPB 204

Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday, 3:45-5:00 PM, in EPB 455

Phone: 335-0465 (office); 337-3364 (home); robert-latham@uiowa.edu (e-mail)

Required Texts (all at Prairie Lights Bookstore):

• Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday
• Franz Kafka, The Complete Stories
• H.P. Lovecraft, The Best of H.P. Lovecraft
• Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber
• Thomas Ligotti, The Nightmare Factory

Description: This course focuses on the evolution of fantastic short fiction, from its Gothic roots in the early nineteenth century to the contemporary horror genre. We will begin by reading Italo Calvin''s anthology Fantastic Tales, which covers the nineteenth century, then proceed to a close examination of the work of four major twentieth century figures: Franz Kafka, H.P. Lovecraft, Angela Carter, and Thomas Ligotti.

Requirements and Assignments: You must be here for every class session with the assigned reading completed. There will be daily quizzes to test your preparation; your top ten scores on these quizzes will count towards your final quiz grade. Quizzes will be administered during the first ten minutes of class; they cannot be made up, so you need to be on time for each session. Quizzes will count 25% towards your final grade. Participation in class discussion is an important component (15%) of your final grade, so please attempt to contribute to each class session. Attendance will not constitute a specific percentage of your final grade, but if you miss more than two classes you will fail this course.

Two short (5-6 pp.) papers will be due in class on Tuesday of Week 2 and Monday of Week 3, and will focus on the material assigned during the previous weeks. I will hand out topic questions on the Fridays of Weeks 1 and 2, from which you will select one to answer. These questions will be comparative-contrastive, requiring you to focus on at least two stories in your essays. Late papers will not be accepted. The papers will each count 20% towards your final grade. A final exam will be administered during the Friday class session of Week 3. The exam will be composed of objective and essay sections. It counts 20% towards your final grade.

Reading Schedule:

Mon. 5/18: Introduction

Tue. 5/19: In Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales :

• E.T.A. Hoffmann, "The Sandman" (pp. 33-72)
• Prosper Mérimée, "The Venus of Ille" (pp. 261-292)

Wed. 5/20: In Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales :

• Honoré de Balzac, "The Elixir of Life" (pp. 95-122)
• Gérard de Nerval, "The Enchanted Hand" (pp. 143-180)
• Nikolai Gogol, "The Nose" (pp. 197-226)

Thu. 5/21: In Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales :

• Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Young Goodman Brown" (pp. 181-196)
• Théophile Gautier, "The Beautiful Vampire" (pp. 227-260)
• Hans Christian Andersen, "The Shadow" (pp. 315-330)

Fri. 5/22: In Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales :

• Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart" (pp. 307-314)
• Charles Dickens, "The Signal-Man" (pp. 331-346)
• Ivan Turgenev, "The Dream" (pp. 347-370)
• Guy de Maupassant, "Night: A Nightmare" (pp. 395-402)

Mon. 5/25: Memorial Day Holiday

Tue. 5/26: In Italo Calvino, ed., Fantastic Tales :

• Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Bottle Imp" (pp. 461-492)
• Rudyard Kipling, "The Bridge-Builders" (pp. 523-558)
• H.G. Wells, "The Country of the Blind" (pp. 559-586)

  First Paper Due

Wed. 5/27: In Franz Kafka, The Complete Stories :

• "The Metamorphosis" (pp. 89-139)
• "In the Penal Colony" (pp. 140-167)
• "A Report to an Academy" (pp. 250-259)

Thu. 5/28: In The Best of H.P. Lovecraft :

• "The Rats in the Walls" (pp. 15-29)
• "The Outsider" (pp. 37-41)
• "The Music of Erich Zann" (pp. 69-75)
• "The Dreams in the Witch House" (pp. 296-324)

Fri. 5/29: In The Best of H.P. Lovecraft :

• "The Call of Cthulhu" (pp. 76-99)
• "The Whisperer in Darkness" (pp. 134-184)
• "The Colour Out of Space" (pp. 185-206)

Mon. 6/1: In Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber :

• "The Bloody Chamber" (pp. 7-40)
• "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" (pp. 41-50)
• "The Tiger's Bride" (pp. 51-67)

  Second Paper Due

Tue. 6/2: In Angela Carter, The Bloody Chamber :

• "The Lady of the House of Love" (pp. 93-107)
• "The Company of Wolves" (pp. 100-118)
• "Wolf-Alice" (pp. 119-126)

Wed. 6/3: In Thomas Ligotti, The Nightmare Factory :

• "Dream of a Mannikin" (pp. 39-51)
• "The Lost Art of Twilight" (pp. 87-102)
• "Vastarien" (pp. 179-191)
• "The Dreaming in Nortown" (p. 260-279)

Thu. 6/4: In Thomas Ligotti, The Nightmare Factory :

• "The Tsalal" (pp. 409-435)
• "Teatro Grottesco" (pp. 469-485)
• "Gas Station Carnivals" (pp. 498-513)
• "The Red Tower" (pp. 542-551)

Fri. 6/5: Final Exam

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