ENGL 54.42 Literature and Theory of the Supernatural

The wager of this class is that telepathy, ghosts, the afterlife, and even gods are real. That is, when people speak of these things, what they are describing is not strictly speaking imaginary, nor only metaphorical, conventional, rhetorical, or illusory. Something happens– to a body, to a community, or to an entire society – that cannot be explained by the preexisting frames of reference of human experience. In other words, the real of the supernatural is not intelligible just like that; hence, it is not a matter of naively “proving” the existence of ghosts, etc (though we will consult the work of psychical researchers). Instead, the occurrence of the supernatural requires us to more carefully define what it means to exist in the first place.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:LIT

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

English and Creative Writing