English 281D: "WTF? (Why The Fangs?)" Our theme this quarter is the enduring popularity of the vampire figure in various cultural artifacts, from stories and novels to TV series and movies. We will pursue the question, how has the figure of the vampire enabled cultural critique since its establishment as a Romantic myth early in the nineteenth century? You can expect to read both academic and non-academic responses to this question. While we may consider Bram Stoker’s Dracula as an originary text, we will also go back further in time to read stories by Polidori, Le Fanu, and Braddon that may have influenced Stoker’s version of the vampire figure. Additional texts under analysis may include Philip Burne-Jones’ painting “The Vampire� And Rudyard Kipling’s poem by the same title, various film adaptations of Dracula, other selected vampire films like Let the Right One In, and episodes from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and True Blood.

Prerequisites:

While 281 has no formal prerequisite, this is an intermediate writing course, and instructors expect entering students to know how to formulate claims, integrate evidence, demonstrate awareness of audience, and structure coherent sentences, paragraphs and essays. Thus we strongly encourage students to complete an introductory (100 level) writing course before enrolling in English 281.