In this online course you will read and discuss famous short stories and two short novels from the 19th century. We will focus on aspects of the uncanny and the subconscious in these texts.
First of all, you need to make yourselves familiar with Sigmund Freud's text "The Uncanny" (1919). This text will be your theoretical basis for all your interpretations:
https://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/freud1.pdf
You will also find these blogs and lecture notes on the text helpful:
https://blog.oup.com/2019/04/explaining-freuds-concept-uncanny/
https://www.freud.org.uk/2019/09/18/the-uncanny/
http://courses.washington.edu/freudlit/Uncanny.Notes.html
Then, over the course of the semester, please gradually read the short stories and short novesl listed below in chronological order. Start with Edgar Allan Poe's famous short story:
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-tale Heart" (1843): https://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/thearta.htm
You will also find the general information and links on this website helpful: https://www.eapoe.org/index.htm
Later in the term you will read the following short story and finally two short novels:
- Charles Dickens's "The Signalman" (1866): https://commapress.co.uk/resources/online-short-stories/the-signalman-charles-dickens
- Oscar Wilde's only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891): https://www.fulltextarchive.com/page/The-Picture-of-Dorian-Gray1/
- Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll.pdf
A great source of knowledge on Victorian literature and culture is the "Victorian Web": http://www.victorianweb.org/
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