Located at the intersection of utopian hope and dystopian collapse is suburbia—a physical, temporal, and political landscape forever shaping the American imagination, past and present. Through a diverse offering a multi-genre texts, reflections, and discussions, students will explore how the Suburban Gothic has shaped American selfhood alongside the ramifications of privilege, homogeny, and the evolution and many afterlives of the American dream. Students will also craft creative works that illustrate, dismantle, and (re)embody the Suburban Gothic in addition to engaging in collaborative dialogue and critical analysis of the contemporary implications of suburbia, community, and identity within American culture. Throughout the semester, students will examine works by Leila Taylor, Jason Diamond, Daniel Clowes, Julia Kristeva, Meghan O’Gieblyn, Wes Craven, Cathy Park Hong, James Baldwin, Gloria E. Anzaldúa, Emma Cline, Adrian Shirk, Jordan Peele, Rivers Solomon, Celeste Ng, Elissa Washuta, Jordan Kisner, and more. **Students must register for both the lecture and discussion section of this course.** [This ULEC is in category 3, Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Arts and Humanities.]