ARTH1916: Witches, Ghosts, and Evil Clowns: Figures of Fear in Art, Folklore, and Popular Culture

From ancient images through popular culture and social media, our art, stories, and beliefs have been filled with figures of fear. The returning dead, people with weird powers, demons, monsters, and mad killers haunt our dreams, but also seem to show up during waking hours. People have committed acts of violence based on fears of such beings. Yet we are also drawn to them, depicting and playing with them, and taking on their guises to scare ourselves for fun. This course will investigate these figures of fear, using approaches from art history, folklore, anthropology, and other fields. We will read a variety of texts, and will also encounter and think about legends, art, movies, literature, games, costumes, haunted houses, and objects used for magic and protection. This course will help you build skills of close observation and visual analysis, learn surprising things about your own surroundings, think critically about culture, and deepen your appreciation for the cultural knowledge and play of communication that make folklife, art, and popular culture so rich and remarkable.

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