Opening lecture for Weird Fiction course. Review of syllabus and basic assignments. Traces roots of Weird Fiction in the Gothic and in late 19th-century Decadence.
Great lecture! Fascinating to hear about the art that preceded and inspired weird fiction. The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher is a great book that also explores this topic, but more from the perspective of trying to define what makes something "weird". Thomas Ligotti also has written a lot about this.
I remember year ago finding these break downs of Weird fic which I wasn't sure if I could divorce it from being some extreme weirdo sadist stuff but with sprinkle of interesting ideas. The delivery of these concepts is masterful. The guy who gave these lectures is actually a legend. Deserves to be in a completely different class in terms of viewership and reception. And I've later fully connected the deep artistic purity which is in the veins some of the work in this genre, and why it is more rich than people acknowledge or even writers express. Which is a small part of why these lectures are so impressive to me.
I feel that impenetrable prose gives linguistic existence to ideas that can't be comprehended. It strives and SUGGESTS, and that is all that CAN be done when faced with the unknowable.
Thanks for uploading these lectures. I'm about to begin postgrad analysing Pathologic II and this series has helped me situate it in the weird, alongside theatre peeps like Artaud and more recent philosophies of the posthuman.
Wouldn't Ligotti fit within a lot of the "weird" 's parameters? . I'm not sure "purple prose" can be applied very solidly to weird fiction, at least without careful examination of just what is being talked about at the specific moment. Sometimes the "purpleness" IS the weird itself: they are on a moebius strip, an inexplicable continuum. A few episodes of The Twilight Zone seem to fit into this weird fiction universe: IT'S A GOOD LIFE, and AND WHEN THE SKY OPENED (I think that's the title)...both certainly conveyed the feelings of helplessness of their characters in the face of inexplicable forces beyond man's comprehension and control.
Maybe another name for "weird fiction" is "quantum fiction", because its core seems to reside right there where comprehension is not a graspable solid, even when it seems like it might be.
Thanks for the video. I like the subject matter and it’s educational. However, taste in fiction is subjective. Aesthetic claims cannot be proven. There’s no such thing as “an objectively terrible movie”. It’s a matter of opinion, not provable fact.
You TEACH THIS???? Whoa... NO You Don't have any idea of what you are talking about. I Watched your Lovecraft one and was left gobsmacked. Do you think you know more than people that have devoted their lives to the subjet. You host a REALLY fake course and i wish you well in your endeavor to spin your own upon well documented subjects.
starts at 10:30
Thank you!
Great lecture! Fascinating to hear about the art that preceded and inspired weird fiction. The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher is a great book that also explores this topic, but more from the perspective of trying to define what makes something "weird". Thomas Ligotti also has written a lot about this.
Love that book! Has been a huge influence for me.
I remember year ago finding these break downs of Weird fic which I wasn't sure if I could divorce it from being some extreme weirdo sadist stuff but with sprinkle of interesting ideas. The delivery of these concepts is masterful. The guy who gave these lectures is actually a legend. Deserves to be in a completely different class in terms of viewership and reception. And I've later fully connected the deep artistic purity which is in the veins some of the work in this genre, and why it is more rich than people acknowledge or even writers express. Which is a small part of why these lectures are so impressive to me.
Thoroughly enjoying your lectures posted on CZcams -- Thank you for posting!
Thank you so much for sharing your lectures publically!
I feel that impenetrable prose gives linguistic existence to ideas that can't be comprehended. It strives and SUGGESTS, and that is all that CAN be done when faced with the unknowable.
So glad you presented this material. Very articulate and thoroughly researched.
Thanks for uploading these lectures. I'm about to begin postgrad analysing Pathologic II and this series has helped me situate it in the weird, alongside theatre peeps like Artaud and more recent philosophies of the posthuman.
Great introduction to an under-studied subject. Thank you for posting.
I thourughly enjoyed this. I don't always agree with it.. but thanks for doing it. A great summary
Thank you very much 🙏
Really enjoy this!
Great to hear a college professor calling out the dismissive, pretentious bullshit of university elites.
Wouldn't Ligotti fit within a lot of the "weird" 's parameters? .
I'm not sure "purple prose" can be applied very solidly to weird fiction, at least without careful examination of just what is being talked about at the specific moment. Sometimes the "purpleness" IS the weird itself: they are on a moebius strip, an inexplicable continuum.
A few episodes of The Twilight Zone seem to fit into this weird fiction universe: IT'S A GOOD LIFE, and AND WHEN THE SKY OPENED (I think that's the title)...both certainly conveyed the feelings of helplessness of their characters in the face of inexplicable forces beyond man's comprehension and control.
Amazing!!
great!
THANK YOU GOOD SIR!!!
My grandmother is weird.
But she’s real, not fictional, eh?
Maybe another name for "weird fiction" is "quantum fiction", because its core seems to reside right there where comprehension is not a graspable solid, even when it seems like it might be.
good stuff
Outside experience or too human?
What´s the email?
Is this an undergraduate or graduate literature course?
Gennadiy Semenenko it’s a 4000 level undergraduate course at Georgia Southwestern State University.
Thanks for the video. I like the subject matter and it’s educational.
However, taste in fiction is subjective. Aesthetic claims cannot be proven. There’s no such thing as “an objectively terrible movie”. It’s a matter of opinion, not provable fact.
You TEACH THIS???? Whoa... NO You Don't have any idea of what you are talking about. I Watched your Lovecraft one and was left gobsmacked. Do you think you know more than people that have devoted their lives to the subjet. You host a REALLY fake course and i wish you well in your endeavor to spin your own upon well documented subjects.