Domestic Spaces in Gothic Literature

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02518
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo (2018-2022); Showa Women's University (2017)
• 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 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 英米文学 / 比較文学 / Gothic Fiction / ゴシック小説 / 怪奇小説 / Uncanny Fiction / Supernatural Fiction / 文学理論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Anxiety arising in the space of home is a significant phenomenon. This theme forms the core of my comprehensive research on Gothic literature in American and British contexts. This project revisited the historical significance of places and territories in British and American Gothic literature, revealing how literature is linked to persistent and pervasive social issues from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Research on this topic was conducted in archives and libraries in the U.S., Britain, and Japan. In addition, landscapes and homes related to the topic were explored in order to elucidate the connection between actual inhabited space and literary space. The primary research I conducted from 2017 to 2022 was actively disseminated through ten conference presentations, two public lectures, and four articles thus far. Further research was organized and these studies provided the basis for my first monograph, which is currently being reviewed for publication by a university press.

Free Research Field

英米・英語圏文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

The research achievements from this project are significant because my conference lectures, publications, and international conference, Gothic Spaces, have contributed to a broad and continuing shift in scholarship about the image of home in Gothic literature.