Past the Shallows Lesson Plan

Tasmanian Gothic

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

Students will study the Tasmanian Gothic trope and apply this understanding to Past the Shallows.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.2, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.6

Structure:

"Tasmanian Gothic" is a term that refers to a dominant trope in Tasmanian literature and art. Richard Watts describes it as a tradition of "Fusing a European literary tradition with the bloody history of Van Dieman's Land's colonial past, and drawing inspiration from the land itself." In other words, Tasmanian Gothic develops from the gothic tradition in Europe, the haunted and...