Something I’ve been seeing a lot of on social media lately that has really intrigued me is the idea of a “personal curriculum.” In essence, this is like a school syllabus that you create for yourself: you choose a topic, make a reading list, and study it. Maybe I’m just boring and miss college, but I love this idea and decided I wanted to make one.
It was easy to decide on a theme. A few months ago I reread Stephen King’s Pet Sematary and ended up writing an essay on grief in horror (more on this later), and I decided to delve deeper into a topic that I have actually studied in an academic setting: the unheimlich, or uncanny.
When I was in college, I took a class on The Literature of Horror, which is where I first encountered Sigmund Freud’s essay, Das Unheimlich. A concept originally philosophized by Ernst Jentsch, Freud explains that the uncanny deals with “that kind of terror which goes back to the long-known.” In other words, that which feels familiar… almost, but isn’t.
Obviously there is a place for horror that is far outside our sphere of understanding. Cosmic horror and everything influenced by Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos proves that we can and love to be terrorized by beings beyond our comprehension. But often horror does find its most unsettling moments in those things that aren’t quite right. Even when it comes to monsters, many appear to be nearly-human, from vampires to wendigo, fear stemming from the uncanny valley of seeing our own distorted reflections.
Being already very familiar with horror and the uncanny, I decided that instead of creating a personal curriculum on the topic, I wanted to make one to share. And what better time to share it than Halloween month! Over the next four weeks, I’m going to post a syllabus introducing the uncanny, with recommendations on material to read and watch for each. I’m also going to be sharing an essay on each of my chosen themes within the topic:
Week one (this post): Introduction to the Uncanny
Week two: Doppelgängers, Doubles, and the Uncanny Valley
Week three: The Uncanny Nature of Grief
Week four: Uncanny Architecture
Obviously I’m not expecting anyone to complete this curriculum within a month, as each of my units has multiple book, article, and movie/television recommendations, but if you do decide to delve in I’d love to hear your thoughts! And by the way, don’t worry if you’re not a horror fan — in each unit I’m including some non-horror (or at least less scary) recs as well.
So, if this post is your introduction to the uncanny, then unit 1 is a primer for what’s to come. Let’s begin:
Unit 1: Introduction to the Uncanny
Primary reading:
Das Unheimlich by Sigmund Freud: The foundational text of this curriculum, Freud’s essay is required reading for anyone interested in the uncanny. Freud defines the unhemlich as such:
The German word “unheimlich” (uncanny) is evidently the opposite of “heimlich” (secret), “heimat” (homely), and “Vertraut” (familiar), leading to the conclusion that something is frightening precisely because it is unknown and unfamiliar. Of course, not everything that is new and unfamiliar is frightening; the relationship is not reversible. One can only say that what is novel easily becomes frightening and uncanny; some novel things are frightening, but certainly not everything. Something else must be added to the new and unfamiliar to make it uncanny.
Secondary reading:
The Tate on Abject Art – Abject art is a strong companion to the uncanny because it twists normal body parts and bodily functions through a transgressive lens. This is often done with a feminist perspective, because the female body and female bodily functions in particular are often subject to accusations of uncleanliness, impureness, etc (think menstruation or breastfeeding). Because uncanny horror deals with the familiar and normal, twisted into something unknown, and often takes place in the home or domestic sphere, it too often has a feminist element.
Next week, I’ll be taking a look at Doppelgängers, Doubles, and the Uncanny Valley. Here’s my reading list of recommendations for that unit. I’ll be sharing my reasons for choosing these pieces of media, as well as a closer look at Ira Levin’s 1970s classic The Stepford Wives — and how it’s even more relevant today.
Unit 2: Doppelgängers, Doubles, and the Uncanny Valley
Primary recommendations:
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Us (dir. Jordan Peele)
Companion (dir. Drew Hancock)
Secondary recommendations:
Doppelgänger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
The Age of Instagram Face by Jia Tolentino for The New Yorker
Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronovsky)
Klara & the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
