French 137: Horror in Modern Fiction

This course looks at examples of the strange, frightening, eerie, violent, and uncanny in modern literature in French, from the nineteenth century to the present. We will consider the following questions: How did writers make use of horror, its motifs, and strategies, as a way to respond to changes brought about by modernization, including new forms of social relation and the promises of scientific progress? How do more recent writers make use of horror to explore and expose the psychic and symbolic violence of racism, classism, and sexism? What historical, social, and individual fears – both conscious and unconscious – do writers address through the aesthetics of horror? Why does horror enthrall its readers, and how might these readings reframe our relation to the horrors of the present? Readings may include works by Gautier, Villiers de l’Isle-Adam, Barbey D’Aurevilly, Maupassant, Level, Renard, and NDiaye, supplemented by films by Clouzot, Franju, and Ducournau.