The course follows the evolution of literary representations of evil from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. We will return to some of the canonical works of English and American literature in examining the manner in which different historical contexts effect significant changes in the conceptualization and articulation of notions of antagonism and transgression.

We will also test the manner in which the evolution of genre and the rise of the novel contribute to these marked fluctuations. Our readings will include Christopher Marlowe´s Dr. Faustus, John Milton´s Paradise Lost, Bram Stoker´s Dracula and Vladimir Nabokov´s Lolita.