Southern Neogothic: Literary and Cinematic Reckonings from the 1970s to the Present

In Southern Neogothic, Lee Rozelle moves beyond familiar debates that have long dominated studies of the American South, proposing a new framework for understanding how contemporary writers, filmmakers, and artists have transformed the genre’s signature tropes to engage pressing cultural, political, and environmental concerns. Rather than revisiting narratives centered on white grievance, Confederate memory, or Lost Cause mythology, Rozelle examines works that expand Southern Gothic’s reach, connecting regional traditions to global audiences and contemporary struggles over identity, power, and belonging. By demonstrating how contemporary artists have reinvented one of America’s most enduring literary modes, Rozelle offers a fresh and timely account of the genre’s continuing cultural relevance.