ASIAN 1109 - FWS: The Politics of Horror: East Asian Tales of the Supernatural

Fall. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

First-Year Writing Seminar.

C. Lee.

Are you afraid of the supernatural? Do you believe they exist? Have you ever wondered why people enjoy speculating about their existence? Of even, why do those who read such tales enjoy being petrified in the first place? What then is the role of the supernatural in our lives? How can analyzing the supernatural aid in understanding ourselves? In this course, we seek to answer these questions. By focusing on the portrayal of the supernatural in East Asia within a historical framework, as well as reflecting upon its position in our lives, we will attempt to uncover the basic themes of our obsession with the unexplainable. We will petrify ourselves going through bone-chilling depictions of the ghostly and hopefully live to WRITE about it!