Course Description

Why are people in all times and cultures fascinated by the supernatural? What is this form that is so essentially intriguing? What kind of narratives have been used to tell stories of the supernatural? What kind of repressions, taboos, secrets and desires transpire from supernatural narratives? In this class we will explore texts spanning from 17th century fairy-tales to the fabulous Arabian Nights to early 20th century novels playing with the enchantment of technology. The exotic, a phantasmatic space twice removed from reality, and the feminine, the space of desire par excellence, will be at the center of our readings. (Taught in French)