PMA 1132 - FWS: Boyfriendtwin: Queer Uncanny Doppelgangers

Fall. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

First-Year Writing Seminar.

J. Cole.

Why are two identical people unsettling? “Uncanny” resemblances suggest the strange, even the supernatural. This course will investigate the doppelgänger myth influencing superstitions about un- or supernatural twins across the history of literature, drama, and film. We will look at a diverse selection of materials including Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Nolan, and Joss Whedon. Considering the ways doubles work across styles from The Parent Trap to The Shining, the course concludes with an exploration of the contemporary social phenomenon of “twinning” in queer culture in relation to the long legacy of the double. With an emphasis on in-class discussion and peer editing, this class will foster and enhance each student’s ability to produce coherent, concise, persuasive prose in the form of critical arguments.