Cold, creepy and immortal, vampires seem to have infiltrated every medium of entertainment. It was just a matter of time before they made their way into college classrooms as well.
A new course at VCU – “Vampires from Dracula to Twilight” – explores the creatures as a cultural symbol throughout various centuries. Students are reading and watching their way through popular novels, films and television shows. Besides getting an education in classics such as “Dracula,” the class will see how the world view on vampires has evolved.
The English department is offering the course as a special section of ENGL 215 (Readings in Literature). John Brinegar, an instructor in the department, came up with the idea for the course and is teaching the section.
Brinegar said he was inspired by the emergence of vampires in book stores, the entertainment industry and popular culture over the past decade.
“There are dozens of vampire series and vampires showing up on television. You’ve got ‘Buffy’ and ‘True Blood’ and all of these things. I just thought. ‘What’s going on?’ ” Brinegar said. “I was a fan of ‘Buffy’ and moderately interested in vampire films in the ’70s and ’80s. But I thought, ‘Why the explosion in so many vampires? Why is this suddenly so attractive?’ ”
Currently, his students are reading and discussing the novel “Interview with the Vampire.” The book, written by Anne Rice and published in 1976, marks a cultural transition from “Dracula” to the more current depiction of vampires, Brinegar said.
Although the class follows the vampire prototype to modern times, Brinegar said he enjoys the more traditional bloodsuckers. He said newer literature is not as original or well-written-but it’s a touchstone for the way the public views vampires now.
While novels such as “Twilight”