Gothic Fiction (ENGL2040)

Course overview

One of the most influential and still current imaginative traditions in English literature, the Gothic specialises in the macabre, the horrifying, the sensational, and the fantastical. Students study key works by (among others) Ann Radcliffe, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson and Bram Stoker.

What sort of things go bump in the night? Haven’t we come this way before? Is that a light flickering in the castle’s window? And – who is this who is coming? The gothic is a truly thrilling genre – it stays with us, it gets under our skin – and it's these kinds of questions and their wider implications that preoccupy the writers of the gothic, and that will preoccupy us. We will consider the ways in which the gothic delights in terrifying us, and why we delight in being terrified; we’ll look to the political and social contexts that gave us to the genre, and we’ll consider different psychological truths that the gothic has sought to disclose. Along the way we will encounter all sorts of ghosts, monsters, undead creatures, seekers of occult knowledge – and the horror of the ordinary…

Gothic literature has its birth in the late eighteenth century. Since then it has been reborn, rejuvenated, resurrected, and mutated time and again up to the current cultural moment. This course studies Gothic literature and culture from its origins in the eighteenth-century, through its nineteenth and twentieth-century forms, and to its revival within contemporary culture. It aims to situate a range of Gothic literary tropes—including live burial, hidden manuscripts, doubles, ghosts, hysteria, immoral religious figures, family secrets, ruined buildings and bodies, sexual danger and incest, the undead, underground spaces, imprisonment, and the unspeakable—within the historical and socio-cultural contexts that generated them.ﾠThese frameworks and contexts include industrial/predatoryﾠcapitalism; urbanization/precarity;ﾠ revolution; religion and secularization; modern regimes of gender and sexuality; theories of evolution, the weird, the eerieﾠand the uncanny; new technologies; environmental and planetary perspectivesﾠand global cultural forms. We will consider the gothic as a genre in and of itself, as well as a set of tropes that can be incorporated into or appropriated by a variety of other literary genres. Seeking to cover a broad range of gothic modes, we will explore categories such as the imperial gothic, the female gothic, the comic gothic, ecogothic, and the southern gothic. And we will approach our texts through a variety of thematic and theoretical frameworks, such as the uncanny, ‘hauntology’, monstrosity and the gothic body, repression, and the spectre of the past.

Course requirements

Assumed background

This is a second-level course (2000 coding), which assumes that you have already taken #4 units of introductory courses (1000 coding), preferably including ENGL1800, Literary Classics.ﾠ If you haven't, you may find you're at a disadvantage.

The course does assume:
•ﾠﾠﾠ that you have had previous experience in studying literary texts, at a first-year level or later.ﾠ
•ﾠﾠﾠ that you are able to write inﾠclear and precise English.
•ﾠﾠﾠ that you have skills in close literary analysis, and that you are able formulate cogently argued and well-supported responses to texts in both oral and written form.
•ﾠﾠﾠ that you are familiar with the School's conventions of format, presentation and documentation, as set out in the School of Communication and ArtsﾠStyle Sheet.

This course does not assume you have already taken relevantﾠliterature coursesﾠ(such as ENGL2440, The Novel: Realism, History, Fiction), though doing so will certainly enrich your contextual and background knowledge for this course.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

4 units of BA courses

Recommended prerequisites

We recommend completing the following courses before enrolling in this one:

ENGL1800, ENGL1500

Restrictions

Course offering may be cancelled unless a minimum of 20 students enrol.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Tutorials begin in Week 1. You must attend a weekly lecture (or listen to the recording) and attend a tutorial.

Refer to Blackboard for the full lecture/tutorial schedule, including topics and weekly reading.

Whilst every effort is made to place students in their preferred activity, it is not always possible for a student to be enrolled in their tutorial of choice. If you require assistance, please ensure that you email timetabling.commarts@enquire.uq.edu.au from your UQ student email with: 

• Your name 
• Your student ID 
• The course code 
• A list of three tutorial preferences (in order of preference) 
• Reason for the change – e.g. timetable clash, elite athlete status, SAP 

Teaching staff do not have access to change tutorials or help with timetables; all timetabling changes must be processed through the Timetabling Team. 

Aims and outcomes

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

Close Reading Essay

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

20% 800 words

Due date

5/09/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via TurnItIn through Blackboard

TurnItIn Receipts: 

Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using TurnItIn. Before submitting any assignments for this course you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial. 

When you successfully submit your assessment to TurnItIn you will see text confirming your submission is complete, before being redirected to your Assignment inbox. On this page you can: 

• View the name of the submitted file 
• View date and time of the upload 
• Resubmit your paper (if necessary) 
• Download your submitted paper 
• Download digital receipt. 

If you cannot see your submission in your Assignment inbox you should regard your submission as unsuccessful. Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (e.g. screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work). 

If the submission was not successful: 

• Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).  
• Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again. 
• If you cannot submit again email your course coordinator immediately with the assignment attached. 

Please visit this webpage for further advice on how to submit your TurnItIn assignment. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Research Essay

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

50% 1500 words

Due date

31/10/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via TurnItIn through Blackboard.

TurnItIn Receipts: 

Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using TurnItIn. Before submitting any assignments for this course you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Tutorial. 

When you successfully submit your assessment to TurnItIn you will see text confirming your submission is complete, before being redirected to your Assignment inbox. On this page you can: 

• View the name of the submitted file 
• View date and time of the upload 
• Resubmit your paper (if necessary) 
• Download your submitted paper 
• Download digital receipt. 

If you cannot see your submission in your Assignment inbox you should regard your submission as unsuccessful. Students are responsible for retaining evidence of submission by the due date for all assessment items, in the required form (e.g. screenshot, email, photo, and an unaltered copy of submitted work). 

If the submission was not successful: 

• Note the error message (preferably take a screenshot).  
• Go to your assignment page and see if it is possible to submit again. 
• If you cannot submit again email your course coordinator immediately with the assignment attached. 

Please visit this webpage for further advice on how to submit your TurnItIn assignment. 

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Examination

• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

30%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

8/11/2025 - 22/11/2025

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Per the UQ Academic Calendar, deferred examinations will be scheduled during the end of semester deferred examination period of 16 to 19 December 2025.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

• Where fractional marks occur in the calculation of the final grade, a mark of x.5% or greater will be rounded up to (x+1)%. A percentage mark of less than x.5% will be rounded down to x%. 
• Where no assessable work is received, a Grade of X will apply.  

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

• Further information regarding the assessment, including marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. 
• Marks Cannot Be Changed After Being Released: Marks are not open to negotiation with course staff. If you wish to discuss the feedback you have received, you should make an appointment to speak with the Course Coordinator. 
• Assessment Re-mark: If you are considering an Assessment Re-mark, please follow the link to important information you should consider before submitting a request. 
• Integrity Pledge: Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin. Before submitting any assignments for this course, you must ensure you have completed UQ's compulsory online Academic Integrity Modules.ﾠIn uploading an assignment via Turnitin you are certifying that it is your original work, that it has not been copied in whole or part from another person or source except where this is properly acknowledged, and that it has not in whole or part been previously submitted for assessment in any other course at this or any other university. 
• Withholding marks prior to finalisation of grades: Per UQ Assessment Procedures – Release of Assessment Item Marks and Grades: The final assessment item and the marks for the assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. 

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

See the ENGL2040 Library course reading page

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

Course guidelines

Communication Expectations  

While you are a student at UQ, all communication must be conducted according to the UQ Student Code of Conduct. The UQ Library has a helpful Communicate and collaborate online module.   

• Email is the primary way for you to send messages to, and receive information from, the School and our staff.   
• You must use your UQ email address (not a private address) to communicate with staff.    
• You should add a clear subject line, including course code, and a 2-3 word statement.   
• You can send email at any time, however, please do not expect responses outside normal working hours (Monday to Friday from ~8am to ~5pm).   
• Emails that constitute bullying, harassment or discrimination against staff contravene the Student Code of Conduct. Emails like this will be reported to the University, and the matter will be pursued as misconduct.