This is the official blog for our class, Gen Hum 2, "Pulp Fictions," where I will post daily readings, questions, assignments, and other items of interest. Be sure to bookmark this page, since you'll need to reference it several times a week.
Make sure to get the books for this class as soon as possible, especially Great Horror Stories (Dover Books), since we'll start reading from it this week (assignment due on Friday). The books are listed below (also on your syllabus):
Great Horror Stories (Dover Books); King, Carrie (any edition); Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Dover Books); Miller, Batman: Year One; Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (Penguin Books); Tolkein, The Hobbit (any edition)
Here's a blurb about the course, also on the syllabus, but just to remind you what you've signed up for. I look forward to re-reading these works with a new generation of students!
In this course, we will explore the birth of so-called “pulp fiction,” or the cheap, popular literature that went under the radar of the critics, but reached a wide audience of readers. These works gave birth to the most popular literary genres that we still read today—horror, fantasy, science fiction, and mysteries. Exploring where these works came from, who wrote them, and why they still keep people flipping the pages can helps us understand who we are—and how history shaped our current tastes, fears, and aspirations. Hopefully, you will find most of these works exciting and ‘easy’ to read, yet surprisingly thoughtful and applicable to the 21st century. From ghosts, aliens, detectives, hobbits, teenagers, and superheroes, this class has it all. Happy reading!
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