EGH231 The Novella and the Uncanny

Aims/Description: This course will explore novellas (and some film adaptations of novellas) from across the last 150 years which represent uncanny experiences of haunting, madness, obsession, and psychological and political disorientation, with these intense experiences often refracted through the consciousness of a central character. We will consider whether the particularities of this literary form lend themselves to representing unsettling experiences at the 'limits of reason', and explore connections between the uncanny and the operations of political and personal power . Texts will include works by Kafka, Camus, George Eliot, Daphne Du Maurier and Muriel Spark. The course will also encompass the study of Freud's essay 'The Uncanny' - which itself contains an analysis of Hoffman's bizarre short story 'The Sandman'.

Staff Contact: STONE BRENDAN

Teaching Methods: Lectures, Seminars, Independent Study

Assessment: Course work, Project/ portfolio

Information on the department responsible for this unit (English):

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Teaching timetable

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Teaching methods and assessment displayed on this page are indicative for 2025-26.