Open Accessunlearning: Horror and transformative theory
Author(s) -
Michael A. Arnzen
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
transformative works and cultures
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1941-2258
DOI - 10.3983/twc.2008.037
Subject(s) - transformative learning , perspective (graphical) , creative writing , class (philosophy) , reading (process) , sociology , motif (music) , variety (cybernetics) , aesthetics , psychology , visual arts , pedagogy , mathematics education , literature , art , epistemology , linguistics , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence
Building on the foundational concepts of transformative learning theory, I argue that horror fiction strongly encourages perspective transformation by challenging student assumptions about both genre writing and educational experience. I informally describe a specific creative writing class period focusing on the motif of the scream in diverse horror texts, and I illustrate how students learn to transform what they already bring to the classroom by employing a variety of particular in-class writing exercises and literary discussions. Among these, transformative writing exercises—such as the revision of an existing text by Stephen King—are highlighted as instructional techniques. As cautionary literature, horror especially dramatizes strategies of fight versus flight. I reveal how students can learn by transforming their knowledge through disorientation that is particular to reading and writing in the horror genre.