Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Curious about exploring the genre of gothic horror? Want to immerse yourself in an unapologetically queer narrative? Join us in reading Gideon the Ninth and its sequel, Harrow the Ninth. Come fall in love with our titular snarky sword lesbian and her sworn enemy turned reluctant ally in this daring debut, featuring a cast of flawed, fleshed-out female characters, high stakes, and a little bit of murder. In this class, we will analyze the intersectionality between horror and queer identity. Through supplemental texts from authors such as Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, Daphne du Maurier, and Emily Brontë, we will discuss the influences of gothic horror in Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth. The referential nature of these texts allows us to survey literature from across the English canon. We will be considering different and alternative modes of narration, particularly in terms of narrative voice, free indirect discourse, and second person narration. We will be discussing the lesbian gaze in literature and coupling that to themes of devotion, grief, and the tragedy of ghosts.

This course will be a discussion based course that is heavily centered on the weekly readings. It will run twice a week for one hour per class session. In the first class of the week, we will have a general interactive lecture, and in the second class, we will discuss and analyze specific passages from both the main readings and the supplemental texts. Each week, there will be either a short reading quiz to assess understanding of the text, or a discussion post to encourage deeper analysis of the readings. There will also be a short essay and a final project for the class.

If you are interested in this course, fill out the interest form to apply. Classes will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Classes are located in Wheeler 20. The deadline to submit the interest form is Thursday, September 5rd. The facilitator will notify you if you have been accepted into the course before the start of class on Tuesday, September 10th.