Saturday and Sunday Classes – 6th and 7th February

We have some fantastic talks this weekend so brace yourselves! Sign up here

Our Saturday speaker is Jon Greenaway (known to many as @thelitcritguy) and he’ll be talking to us about

“We’re In Hell: Alan Moore, Jack the Ripper and the Political Theology of Capitalism” 

This session serves as an introduction to the work of Alan Moore, particularly his methods, interests and innovative style. Paying close attention to his landmark work ‘From Hell” this session will explore Moore’s take on the Ripper Myth and how his own cosmology, sense of history and political theology all inform his interpretation and ‘Gothicising’ of Jack the Ripper. “From Hell” is not just a retelling of a familiar story but shows the myriad ways such a story has been put to use, encouraging us as readers to be more conscious of the Horrors of Modernity that surround and encircle us all. 

Our Sunday Speaker is Melody Blackmore, who’ll be talking to us about

‘Space, Madness and Horror Film’

The Descent is a 2005 British adventure horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. The film follows six women who, having entered a cave system, struggle to survive against the humanoid creatures inside. But what if the trauma that protagonist Sarah has suffered means that what viewers see are her own inner conflicts? Her unconscious manifestations of her own madness? What if the landscape reflects what is happening inside her own mind?

This class will take an explorative look at the landscape and the concept of madness as a representation for cultural fears.

Beginning with an introduction to the films dominant themes, a discussion over trauma and madness in horror film take place, before moving onto deeper investigation into the films use of landscape and madness to portray the inner psyche and societal fears.