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Horror: A Screen and Cultural Genre (SCRN20015)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
Semester 2
Overview
| Availability | Semester 2 |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
As one of the most popular global genres, the horror film has nevertheless struggled, until recently, to be taken seriously as an important critical and cultural form. This subject is designed as a bridging subject for students interested in the crossover between screen studies and cultural studies and looks at the formal and aesthetic evolution of horror. It also investigates how the horror genre’s use of affect and emotion has made it an important critical form for issues of race, gender, nationality, sexuality and identity. A range of canonical horror films and screen media as well as more recent innovations to the genre will be examined.
Intended learning outcomes
On completion of this subject, students should be able to:
- Analyse screen and other media texts and demonstrate critically informed understandings of the horror genre.
- Develop critical and methodological literacy in the horror genre.
- Apply theoretical approaches and cultural formations informing horror films, cultures, and media texts.
- Develop detailed knowledge of the aesthetic and affective attributes of the horror genre.
- Identify and understand the complex changing social, historical, and cultural contexts of the horror genre.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should gain the following generic skills:
- fundamental research and analytic skills;
- critical and ethical self-awareness;
- the ability to develop and communicate effective arguments in both oral and written form; and
- fundamental skills in media and information literacy and management.
Last updated: 4 March 2025