Fearing the Unknown: Horror Fantasy in Hispanic Fiction (FNDS 1204)

A good horror story incites fear, one of the strongest emotions that we as an audience seek. 

Horror offers the possibility to talk about our irrational human fears through dark narratives. It makes a space for the inexplicable, the supernatural, the undead, while allowing the appearance of troubled characters: the non-normal, the bizarre, the other.

And while fear is universal, what are the contexts in which Hispanic horror is produced? What or who is the other in these contexts? What makes it different than other artistic productions in English? 

This course offers the opportunity to bring major Latin American and Spanish short stories, novellas, and films to first-year students. It explores how religion and superstition, violence, and doubt inform Hispanic horror while intertwining it with other genres from the early 19th through early 21st centuries. 

This course covers topics in the disciplines Latin American Studies, Hispanic Studies.

Who should take this course?

A first-year student who enjoys horror and weird stories set in strange lands.

More about this course

Course number: FNDS 1204

Number of Credits: 4

Search UM-Dearborn Class Schedule to find out more.

Dearborn Discovery Core requirements met: Critical and Creative Thinking, Humanities and the Arts

Meet your faculty member: Sofia Calzada-Orihuela, Lecturer IV in Spanish

One of the benefits of taking a Foundations course is gaining a faculty mentor that can support you throughout your college career. Get to know Sofia Calzada-Orihuela, faculty member for Fearing the Unknown: Horror Fantasy in Hispanic Fiction.

Sofia Calzada Orihuela grew up in Cuernavaca, Mexico, where she received her B.A. degree. She completed her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Have questions about this course? Email Dr.Calzada-Orihuela at [email protected].