English 1102-H3: The Double: Duplicitous Discourse in Literary Fiction and Popular Film

 

The Double: Duplicitous Discourse in Literary Fiction and Popular Film. This course examines the figure of the double in literature and film, a figure that has haunted western culture for centuries, particularly through Gothic fiction and horror film. The double is usually a character that resembles a story’s protagonist and expresses the protagonist’s dark, taboo desires; the double is a reflection in a funhouse mirror that distorts in order to reveal hidden dimensions of the self. Beginning with a traditional pairing of E.T.A. Hoffman’s short story “The Sandman” with Sigmund Freud’s “The Uncanny,” an analysis of Hoffman’s story, we develop a range of theoretical perspectives that provide interpretive frameworks for understanding the double’s diverse representations. We also read stories by Edgar Allan Poe, James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, and H.P. Lovecraft, considering them alongside films by Alfred Hitchcock, Roger Corman, John Carpenter, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Brian DePalma, and David Lynch. Using these works as a foundation, students craft analytical essays of varying lengths and collaborate on websites and videos that expose the range of historical and cultural approaches to doubling as well as their tortuous and torturous meanings.

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Recent Submissions

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner 

    Alexopoulos, George; Desai, Raj; Morris, Emily; Sutter, Ben (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)

  • The Thing 

    Berlinger, Mike; Field, Matthew; Nickerson, Kate; Thao, Michael (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)

  • The Case of Charles Dexter Ward 

    Bruen, Brandon; Flont, Alex; Rahn, Eliza; Vreeland, Cameron (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)

  • Mulholland Drive 

    Castle, Peter; Kadiveti, Pravallika; Sissoko, Lamine Steve; Zahn, Nicholas (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)

  • Rebecca 

    Stachura, Sam; McCauley, Kevin; Alea, Kylie; Dean, Dallas (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)
    Protagonist: Kylie Why Mrs. Danvers Snapped: Upset that Rebecca lied to her about being pregnant. DeWinter and No Name's Relationship: They really did love each other. Their love was most evident after DeWinters told No ...

  • The Haunted Palace 

    Das, Anuraag; Mahoney, Kyle; Smith, Kenneth; Zhao, Sheng (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-03-10)