American Gothic (ENG-0182)

Spring 2026 · ENG 0182 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Examines the gothic genre in 19th-century American literature. Associated in England with spooky castles, gothic fiction in America dramatized the dark side of U.S. history against backdrops ranging from the frontier wilderness to colonial settlements to urban slums. Challenging an idealized vision of democracy, these texts probe the racial violence, class antagonism, and gender exclusions that haunted the nation from its founding. And countering an Enlightenment faith in reason, they depict characters in the grip of uncontrollable desires and pervasive anxiety. The reading list includes authors both well known (Poe, Hawthorne, Melville) and less so (Lippard, Southworth, Hopkins).

Course codes: ENG-0182, ENG 0182, ENG0182, ENG-182, ENG 182, ENG182

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