Unit Synopsis

Crossing Gothic Boundaries: Using Horror to Unpack America’s Racism

Amanda Wlock

This unit is most appropriate for a high school setting as it is based on a niche curriculum unit tracking the evolution of Gothic Literature and deals specifically with the final unit of modern and contemporary horror. While the contents of this unit could be adapted for 9th-12th grade, it is particularly focused on a 12th grade subject sample. This unit is grounded in an historical understanding of racism in America and how that rhetoric influenced and still drives racism in the entertainment industry. The trajectory of the unit gives a brief synopsis of how racist ideas were established in the new world and later discusses how racism colored entertainment and how that racism was challenged in 20th and 21st century movements to reclaim African-American agency and autonomy in film representation. The unit also delves into the history of Gothicism and Gothic Horror and connects the “tabooness” of Gothic to the experience of race and representation, examining how the Gothic Horror genre provides a space to actively confront and subvert racism.