ANTH080 PO - The Horror of Everyday Life

When Offered: Each fall
Instructor(s): O. Shah
Credit: 1

Anthropology takes the familiar and makes it strange. An echo of this is contained in the horror genre. Indeed, much of contemporary horror hinges on an interruption to the everyday, where the impossible becomes possible. This course will explore the proximity of “horror” to the discipline of anthropology. Rejecting cannibal exploitation, folk horror, and the destination horror of the vampire’s castle, this course will explore how affects and atmospheres of horror emerge from everyday life. The course will proceed through a pairing of film and anthropological commentaries on topics like race, gender and sexuality, science and technology, and the body and medicine. Students will elaborate on key concepts like the uncanny, terror, and horror, taking seriously their social and political effects on our everyday lives.

Satisfies the following General Education Requirement(s), subject to conditions explained in the Degree Requirements section of this Catalog:
Area 2