CLITR 3710 The Feast of Blood - Vampire Novels: 19th-21st Century
Vampires are universal – they exist is ALL cultures. Why do vampires capture the imagination, especially of Anglophone readers and viewers? What qualities does the vampire incarnate? What might have triggered particular enthusiasm for depicting the undead? How has the depiction of the vampire evolved over centuries? How do we look at them through the lenses of culture, race, sexuality, and religion? You are all familiar with the Twilight series – bring your thoughts and obsessions to class.
This class will examine the shifting images and themes of the rise of the vampire as a literary obsession, beginning with a mysterious early 19th century text published in NYC - The Black Vampire. From there we will move on to England and meet the “first” literary vampire: Sir Frances Varney, star of the notorious penny dreadful, Varney the Vampire, or, The Feast of Blood. The class will then study La Fanu’s Carmilla and Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula, and with a focus on the ways Stoker borrowed, shifted, and altered the tropes started by Rymer. For the second half of the semester, the class will study the vampire in contemporary literature, and accompanying films, exploring how modern authors/filmmakers reimagine classic vampire images and themes and how modern vampires reflect the shifting cultural and political landscape.