Didactic Aspects of the module Horror and Fantasy Anna Höglund Introduction This module can give you inspiration for classroom- discussions about topics like: horror in fantastic fiction, the monster in fantastic fiction and political readings of contemporary fantastic fiction. Themes, Subgenres and Horror in literature In contemporary Fantasy-Horror we can recognize classical themes from the literary horror tradition. Therefore you can use contemporary texts from subgenres as Gothic Fantasy, Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance to introduce your students to the origins of horror literature and genres like early Gothic Fiction and Victorian Gothic. Earlier texts in Gothic Fiction written by authors as Horace Walpole, Matthew Lewis and Ann Radcliffe can be hard to relate to for young students. But if you use more contemporary Gothic Fantasy, like the works of Ransom Riggs and Neil Gaiman, as a springboard you may be able to build a bridge between older literature and contemporary literature in an inspirational way. Monster and the Monstrous The existence of monsters and monstrous creatures is common in Fantasy-Horror. In contemporary fantasy literature the monster is more complex than in previous literature. They are often narrators in their own stories and they are often occupied with pondering on ontological and existential matters. The monsters are self-reflective and examine the conditions for their existence. They also do this on the basis of their position as outsiders and outcasts, as those who do not obviously comply with the prevailing norm in society. They question and challenge existence in the world we live in. Therefore you can use the monster in contemporary fantastic literature to discuss themes like alienation and oppressive 1 norms in our society. Why do young people feel alienated in our society today? What kind of oppressive norms exists in our society and how can we counteract them? In which way can young people identify with monsters in subgenres like Dark Fantasy and Paranormal Romance today? What can young people’s identification with monsters tell us about our society today? Political readings Fantasy literature transports its readers to fantastic and alien worlds. Yet this does not prevent the genre from reflecting and engaging in dialogue with the reality in which it is created. On the contrary, several researchers have defined fantasy as a highly political genre. Therefore you can use texts from contemporary fantasy literature to discuss important political topics in our society. You can for an example discuss how a specific literary work portrays a resistance to the dominant social order and how it expresses norms and values that can be read as a defence of “the preservation of the social order”. 2 .