Literature & the Culture of the Vampire ((4 Credits))

Catalog description

The vampire, as an enduring cultural metaphor for sexuality, class struggle, and Imperialism, has inconveniently and consistently refused to die. He (and, more recently, she) eerily transforms to suit history and circumstances: as Nina Auerbach explains, 'every age embraces the vampire it needs.' Iterations of the course might survey some of the most popular incarnations of the vampire in films, on TV, and in literature, both classic and contemporary. We may consider these works in the light of recent critical scholarship which takes them seriously, to help us decide what is at stake for our culture in the figure of the vampire.