Since 2005, I have taught an senior-level seminar History/Humanities course on the complex relationship between cultural history and horror films. The goal of the course is to better understand the significant ways that horror films reflect the social and political developments/attitudes of their origins. The readings, discussions, individual assignments, and film screenings are designed to challenge students in their role as a historian and participant in popular culture. Understanding film, both as text and artifact, equips one for a better understanding of how horror films reflect society, culture, and technology (the building blocks of history). The underlying objectives of this course include improving the student's analytical/interpretive skills and building an increased awareness about the complex relationship between historical inquiry, popular culture and horror films. One can learn much about the culture of a society in a particular time and place by understanding what frightens that society.
