2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

Domestic Spaces in Gothic Literature

Research Project

Project/Area Number	17K02518
Research Institution	The University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	Landau Samantha 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 特任准教授 (70739028)
Project Period (FY)	2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
Keywords	英米・英語圏文学 / 英米文学 / 比較文学 / Gothic Fiction / ゴシック小説 / 怪奇小説 / Uncanny Studies / Supernatural Studies
Outline of Annual Research Achievements	I made presentations at international conferences, at the International Gothic Association Conference 2018 at Manchester Met University (UK) on 3 August 2018 and at the Literary Fantasy Conference at Taipei Tech (Taiwan) on 23 November 2018. I submitted an article on the Gothic house in Daphne du Maurier’s novel Jamaica Inn, which was returned to me to revise and resubmit. I traveled to the UK and met other Gothic scholars; I conducted research the Gothic House in British literature in Haworth, Lancaster, the Lake District, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London. I submitted an article on Shirley Jackson and the occult, which was published in October 2018. I started a Twitter account to engage with Gothic scholarship. I began planning my conference to be held in 2019.
Current Status of Research Progress	Current Status of Research Progress 2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned. Reason The project is progressing rather smoothly because I have attained most of the goals for this year, namely: 1) continue to disseminate the research at both national and international venues, 2) continue to submit my work for publication, and 3) most significantly, connect with other Gothic literature researchers and make ties for future research and for the 2019 conference "Gothic Spaces." My trip to the International Gothic Association and my creation of a Twitter account for engagement/connections have been very successful. I have and will continue to nurture these connections. My conference planning is going smoothly, with the website in progress and Call for Papers announced in timely fashion. I need more successful publications, which is the continued difficulty I face.
Strategy for Future Research Activity	I currently plan to give at least 2 conference lectures. One will be at Liberlit 10 on 1 June 2019, entitled “Uncanny Derelicts and Supernatural Dangers at Sea in the Turn-of-the-20th-Century Weird Tale.” I have submitted abstracts to other venues and am waiting for acceptances. I plan to give a lecture at my conference, “Gothic Spaces” (October 19-20, 2019), regarding my research on Shirley Jackson’s image of the Gothic home. I will submit 2 articles to journals for publication, one on Shirley Jackson’s Gothic-influenced conception of scapegoating rituals and race, and one on the motif of the sea as a home/family-wrecking force in Nautical Gothic stories. I will also complete archival research for my monograph and submit the prospectus to an academic publisher.
Causes of Carryover	I will purchase books necessary to research for lectures and publications. Fees will be incurred while planning and holding the international conference "Gothic Spaces." Fees will be paid for 2 keynote speakers’ lodgings and travel expenses. 4 graduate students will be hired to work at the conference; 1 will be hired assist prior to the conference to help update the conference website and gather information to make the conference run smoothly. Fees will be incurred during a research trip to the Library of Congress in DC and the University of Pennsylvania for 2 weeks in late August.