ANG6530 Studies in GenreWinter 2013
Vampires in Film and Literature
Description:
This course will consider the development of Vampire literature, from its early manifestations in the nineteenth century, most notably Bram Stoker’s 1897 Dracula, to Stephen King’s 1975 Salem’s Lot, and Matt Haig’s 2010 The Radleys.
Students will be introduced to a diverse array of texts and films which will allow for a wide-ranging discussion of issues at play in Vampire literature. Indeed, Vampire lore offers a rich and varied focus for textual analysis, including themes surrounding sexuality, race, disease, social class, and death. The spectrum of works under consideration will broaden the students’ perspective on the Vampire theme and its literary and sociological influence on other works and on contemporary society at large.
Requirements:
- Two critical questions on each of the nine novels under consideration: 18% [submitted 24 hours in advance by email];
- Two in-class presentations: 60% [12′-15′ / 1800-2200 words; submitted 36 hours in advance by email];
- Final Essay: 22% [revised and expanded version of one of the two presentations (3000-3500 words); due Monday 13 May 2013 by email].
Bibliography:
- Octavia Butler, Fledgling (2005) ISBN 978-0446696166.
- Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, eds. Teeth (2011) ISBN 978-0061935145
- Matt Haig, The Radleys (2010) ISBN 978-1554688586.
- Laurel Hamilton, Guilty Pleasures (1993) ISBN 978-0515134490.
- Charlaine Harris, Dead until Dark (2001) ISBN 978-0441008537.
- Stephen King, Salem’s Lot (1975) ISBN 978-0671039745.
- Richard Matheson, I am Legend (1954) ISBN 978-0765357151.
- Tim Powers, The Stress of her Regard (1989) ISBN 978-1892391797.
- Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897) ISBN 978-0141439846.
Schedule:
- 25 January 2013: Introduction — Viewing: X-Files ‘Bad Blood’
- 1 February 2013: Class cancelled
- 8 February 2013: Matheson
- 15 February 2013: Stoker — Viewing: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: ‘Buffy vs Dracula’ (5.1; 2000)
- 22 February 2013: King
- 1 March 2013: Powers
- 8 March 2013: March Break
- 15 March 2013: Harris
- 22 March 2013: Viewing: Let the Right One in — Craig Gillespie’s 2011 Fright Night (Part I)
- 29 March 2013: Easter Friday
- 5 April 2013: Hamilton
- 12 April 2013: Viewing: Craig Gillespie’s 2011 Fright Night (Part II) — Tony Scott’s 1983 The Hunger
- 19 Avril 2013: Butler
- 26 April 2013: Haig
- 3 May 2013: Datlow and Windling
Secondary Criticism:
- David Seed, “The Narrative Method of Dracula“, Nineteenth-Century Fiction 40, 1 (1985)
- Tanya Pikula, “Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Late-Victorian Advertising Tactics: Earnest Men, Virtuous Ladies, and Porn“, English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920 55, 3 (2012)
- Mathias Clasen, “Vampire Apocalypse: A Biocultural Critique of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend“, Philosophy and Literature 34, 2 (2010)
- Janani Subramanian, “Alienating identification: Black identity in The Brother from Another Planet and I Am Legend“, Science Fiction Film and Television 3, 1 (2010)
- Steven Bruhm, “On Stephen King’s Phallus; Or the Postmodern Gothic“, Narrative 4, 1 (1996)
- Christine Kenyon Jones, “SF and Romantic Biofictions: Aldiss, Gibson, Sterling, Powers“, Science Fiction Studies 24, 1 (1997)
- J. M. Tyree, “Warm-Blooded: True Blood and Let the Right One In“, Film Quarterly 63, 2 (2009)
- Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua and Clarence Lang, “The ‘Long Movement’ as Vampire: Temporal and Spatial Fallacies in Recent Black Freedom Studies“, The Journal of African American History 92, 2 (2007)
- Marty Fink, “AIDS Vampires: Reimagining Illness in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling“, Science-Fiction Studies 37, 3 (2010)
- Pramod K. Nayar, “A New Biological Citizenship: Posthumanism in Octavia Butler’s Fledgling“, Modern Fiction Studies 58, 4 (2012)
This content has been updated on January 4, 2020 at 22 h 14 min.