ENG 3310-0001 -Summer 2026 - Welch

This course examines the horror film as a dark mirror of the American Dream. Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States, we will explore how horror cinema exposes the anxieties, contradictions, and repressed histories that undergird national mythology. From haunted houses and possessed children to serial killers, witches, and uncanny doubles, American horror persistently asks: What must be sacrificed to sustain the dream of freedom, prosperity, and innocence? Beginning with foundational works of classical Hollywood and moving through New Hollywood, independent cinema, and contemporary film, we will consider how horror registers fears about the family, religion, race, gender, capitalism, and the frontier. Through close analysis, historical contextualization, and theoretical readings, students will learn how genre conventions evolve over time and how horror serves as a uniquely powerful vehicle for cultural critique. Ultimately, the course argues that horror is not merely escapist entertainment, but a central site for negotiating the promises—and the nightmares—of American identity. Fulfills LMC requirement for Understanding Genres. Counts towards Film Studies minor.