English 102, Introduction to Literature: Gothic Literature and Minorities

Instructors: Audrey Wu Clark and Sarah Townsend

What might compel a group of San Quentin inmates to spend a
Thursday evening defending the rights of leprechauns?

The students of English 102 could offer plenty of reasons after their
recent in-class debate, where they argued the pros and cons of 19th-century British political cartoons. Students noticed several different racial stereotypes of the Irish in these cartoons: the drunken Paddy, the dangerous ape, and the childlike leprechaun who, as one student noted, was being punished by an unnecessarily stern “Mother” England.

The class debate is just one of many activities through which the students examine the topic of “Gothic Literature and Minorities.” We began the semester by reading classic Gothic novels, which feature gloomy castles, ghosts, sinister desires and evil villains. We have gone on to study literary works that borrow from these Gothic conventions to discuss racial, gender, and class difference. Through a diverse set of readings—from the travel narratives of a 12th-century English cleric to contemporary novels by Toni Morrison and Arturo Islas—students investigate the many Gothic tropes used to identify and control minorities, as well as works by minority authors who “write back” to the structures that oppress them.

Students have also been on the lookout for Gothic minority discourse in present-day politics, popular culture, and their own everyday lives. This allows them to connect more fully to the wide range of minorities that English 102 will cover.