Schoolhouse Gothic in the news

Chicago Tribune news : News columnists: "He listed his serial murders and methods, not in the expected monotone, but enthusiastically, like some prideful junior college instructor in beard and suitcoat and tie. "

Sherry's dissertation had to do with what she calls "schoolhouse gothic." In it she writes about how the focal point of the gothic is no longer the Catholic church or aristocracy of gothic's origin but is now school, schoolteachers, and even students themselves. Scholar David Punter argues that the Gothic provides an image language for a culture to express its fears. What Sherry explores in her work is how and why we have shifted our focus from the fear of the "old country" to the educational process. John Kass's description of Dennis Rader's court appearance is an illustration of just how far this fear goes.