This semester we will explore the topic of "monster." We will first discuss the concept of "monster" through the gothic tradition and then proceed to its cultural significance both as a concept that challenges the dominant cultural values AND as a cultural commodity that is easily subsumed under the logic of late capitalism. The first part of the course will center on Bram Stoker's masterpiece Dracula and H. G. Wells' The War of Worlds whereas in the second half of the semester we will read H. P. Lovecraft's short fictions. It is the instructor's intention to relate the idea of "monster" to contemporary cultural milieu and tease out its cultural significance.