The Vampire in European and American Culture Dr. Jeff Holdeman SLAV-T230 11498 (SLAV) (please call me Jeff) SLAV-T230 11893 (HHC section) GISB East 4041 Fall 2019 812-855-5891 (office) TR 4:00–5:15 pm Office hours: Classroom: GA 0009 * Tues. and Thur. 2:45–3:45 pm in GISB 4041 carries CASE A&H, GCC; GenEd A&H, WC * and by appointment (just ask!!!) * e-mail me beforehand to reserve a time * It is always best to schedule an appointment. [email protected] [my preferred method] 812-335-9868 (home) This syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request. Overview The vampire is one of the most popular and enduring images in the world, giving rise to hundreds of monster movies around the globe every year, not to mention novels, short stories, plays, TV shows, and commercial merchandise. Yet the Western vampire image that we know from the film, television, and literature of today is very different from its eastern European progenitor. Nina Auerbach has said that "every age creates the vampire that it needs." In this course we will explore the eastern European origins of the vampire, similar entities in other cultures that predate them, and how the vampire in its look, nature, vulnerabilities, and threat has changed over the centuries. This approach will provide us with the means to learn about the geography, village and urban cultures, traditional social structure, and religions of eastern Europe; the nature and manifestations of Evil and the concept of Limited Good; physical, temporal, and societal boundaries and ritual passage that accompany them; and major historical and intellectual periods (the settlement of Europe, the Age of Reason, Romanticism, Neo-classicism, the Enlightenment, the Victorian era, up to today). We will examine how the vampire first manifested itself in European literature and how it "shape-shifted" its way into the entertainment (and commercial) media of today, through numerous and various readings of fictional, ethnographic, and scholarly works, the analysis of folklore materials, as well as the viewing of movies, television shows, and Internet sites, not only from the U.S. and Europe but from around the world. By the end of the course, students will be able to discuss the origins, classifications, functions, natures, and evolution of the vampire and what that can tell us about historical periods and our own contemporary cultures. Learning Objectives After successfully completing this course, students will be able to: * interpret a broad range of materials (folklore, literature, film, and manifestations/products of contemporary culture from a variety of countries) based on content and function, to place the materials within the era and culture that created them as well as: * identify, discuss, and compare the countries of eastern Europe, their capitals, religions, languages, history, and traditional social structure * discuss belief systems and how they manifest themselves in traditional and modern cultures * discuss the origins, classifications, functions, natures, and evolution of the vampire * analyze unfamiliar authentic folklore and urban materials for content, classification, theme, and purpose * compare contemporary Western culture (as well as select world cultures) with traditional eastern European cultures and belief systems * compare and contrast major historical and intellectual periods of Western culture, especially how they define and approach the concept of Evil (Romanticism, Neo-classicism, the Enlightenment, etc.) * express themselves more ably in spoken and written forms through the analysis of authentic folkloric texts, historical documents, works of literature, movies, and contemporary culture Disclaimer In this course, we will be discussing and viewing sensitive topics: religion and belief systems, personal beliefs, "subculture" lifestyles, human sexuality, death and its physiology, and how all of these relate to vampire studies and their depictions in a range of media (which we will be viewing and examining). Some discussions will be frank, but academic. (I reserve the right to make puns, however.) If you feel that you might be bothered in any way, you might consider taking another course. 1 College of Arts and Sciences Learning Outcomes This course carries CASE A&H and CASE GCC credit: Arts and Humanities (CASE A&H) courses examine the complexity of human experience, interrogate the range of human thought and emotion, interpret varieties of aesthetic expression, and grapple with moral issues. Such courses analyze written texts and works in literature, the visual arts, music, and the other performing arts, as well as philosophical and religious thought, and intellectual and cultural traditions from both contemporary and historical perspectives. They also develop the abilities to think rationally and to construct and assess opinions, ideas, and arguments. The approach may be comparative, historical, or analytical, but the emphasis is on developing students' interpretive and critical skills. Courses approved for Arts and Humanities Breadth of Inquiry credit explore and analyze the artifacts of human expression and/or put their knowledge into practice through producing work in (a) literary form, (b) the visual arts (painting, sculpture, textiles, etc.), (c) musical composition and performance, or (d) dramatic performance (live theater, video and film, dance, etc.). These courses should include some written component—whether an analytical paper, a research paper, or a response to an aesthetic experience. Global Civilizations and Cultures (CASE GCC2) courses examine the distinctive worldview, institutions, and patterns of organization of a non-U.S. civilization or culture. A course might focus on the art, religion, literature, political and philosophical traditions, social behavior and institutions, etc. of a particular culture or civilization, but it would fulfill CASE GCC requirement only if it devoted a substantial amount of time to the relationship(s) between that specific aspect and the culture more generally. Alternately, a course might have a broad conceptual focus within a narrow geographical and temporal setting (e.g., religious practices in a particular country or across a specific time frame) or a narrow conceptual focus across a broad geographical or temporal setting (e.g., "global cities" on different continents or as manifest across broad expanses of time). Students who complete the CASE GCC requirement will be able to demonstrate: a) knowledge of non-U.S. cultures and civilizations (including beliefs, values, perspectives, practices, and products); b) an ability to explain the relational complexities of cultural forms and ideologies, institutional arrangements, social and political institutions, etc., whether studying a single culture and/or civilization or taking a comparative approach that examines cultures and civilizations across time and space; and c) facility in using a vocabulary of topics, tropes, narratives and other discursive strategies to analyze, interpret, and productively engage different cultures and civilizations on a global scale. [In SLAV-T230: we will examine the geography, village and urban cultures, traditional social structure, and religions of eastern Europe; the nature and manifestations of Evil and the concept of Limited Good in many cultures of this region (and parallels in British, American, and select world cultures; physical, temporal, and societal boundaries and ritual passage that accompany them; and major historical and intellectual periods (the settlement of Europe, the Age of Reason, Romanticism, Neo-classicism, the Enlightenment, the Victorian era, up to today). We will examine how the vampire first manifested itself in European (and specifically British) literature and how it "shape-shifted" its way into the entertainment (and commercial) media of today, through numerous and various readings of fictional, ethnographic, and scholarly works, the analysis of folklore materials, as well as the viewing of movies, television shows, and Internet sites, not only from the U.S. and Europe but from around the world. By the end of the course, students will be able to discuss the origins, classifications, functions, natures, and evolution of the vampire and what that can tell us about historical periods and our own contemporary cultures.] General Education Learning Outcomes This course carries GenEd A&H credit. Of the seven GenEd A&H learning outcomes, this course is designed to develop the following four skills: AH-1. Students demonstrate knowledge of origins, varieties, and meanings of the expressions and artifacts of human experience, including (a) original written texts in various literary forms, (b) works of visual art and design, (c) musical compositions, and (d) dramatic performance (live theater, dance, film, video, digital, etc.). [In SLAV-T230: Students demonstrate the ability to express themselves more ably in spoken and written forms through the analysis of authentic folkloric texts, historical documents, works of literature, movies, and contemporary culture.] AH-2. Students demonstrate knowledge of the cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts through which these expressions and artifacts are interpreted. [In SLAV-T230: Students demonstrate knowledge of the cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts (pre-modern Central and East European civilization, then 19th-century British history and society, then 20th-century United States history and society, and into 21st-century global civilization) through which these expressions