‘Vampirology’: Richmond locals learns about human experience through vampires

Chloe Hawkins, Spectrum Editor

Richmond locals sunk their teeth into history and folklore during a Vampirology course fostered by Virginia-based professor Stanley Joseph Stephanic. 

Profs and Pints brings college professors into local coffee shops, pubs and other venues to spread their knowledge, according to its website. These lessons range from politics, economics and gardening to Stephanic’s vampires with “The Life of a Vampire.”

Stephanic began teaching Slavic language and literature in August of 2005, according to Stephanic. He has also taught many other courses like Russian and Eastern European film.

“Vampires were just one of the things I was interested in as a child and all throughout my life. I was always interested in Halloween, ghosts, those kinds of things,” Stephanic said. “So it was simply a natural progression, nothing really inspired me in particular.”

This Dracula lesson isn’t just about vampires, as it’s really about human experience taught through vampires, according to Stephanic. 

“They learn about Slavic history, folklore, anthropology, pandemics, psychology, almost anything you can think about,” Stephanic said. “So really, I want them to learn more about themselves in the process.”

Stephanic said the lecture was a lot of fun to teach, and that he plans on doing it again soon in Richmond. 

“We have plans on doing some talks again in the fall, so we’ll see how it goes,” Stephanic said.

Stephanic got the opportunity to teach this lesson through Profs and Pints CEO Peter Schmidt. On June 6, Schmidt reached out to Stephanic via email. 

Schmidt said he didn’t originally choose the entrepreneurship route, but was always inspired by his father as a child. 

“My father owned an appliance business,” Schmidt said. “As a little kid I would shovel snow, cut yards, and hold lemonade stands for my neighborhood.”

Schmidt said he began his education journalism career after college, and his topics included academic labor and higher education policy as a reporter for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He said this path led to him realizing how expensive college is. 

“It bothered me to see the barriers set up between teachers and students,” Schmidt said. “I asked myself — what if we went back to what Socrates did?” 

Profs and Pints had their first class in October of 2017, according to Schmidt. 

Since starting in Washington D.C., they have expanded to nine other major cities: Ann Arbor, Annapolis, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Nashville, Philadelphia and Richmond. 

“I want to reach every large college city and town,” Schmidt said. “Eventually we’ll be global.” 

The lectures in Richmond have been very successful, according to Schmidt. There have been a total of six given in the city with an average headcount of ninety people, according to Schmidt. 

“RVA has been great for me,” Schmidt said. “There has yet to be a flopped class.”

University of Virginia English alumna Tanisha Wright said people recommended taking the course while attending college. 

“When I saw it was offered through Profs and Pints I had to take the opportunity,” Wright said.

Wright said an interesting thing she learned at the Profs and Pints lecture was the folklore behind vampire mythology. For example, their fear of garlic, the death of vampires by stakes and more. The biggest difference between the traditional lecture and “The Life of a Vampire” is the opportunity to enjoy learning without tedious work, according to Wright. 

Wright took an English course under Professor Stephanic her freshman year titled “English Writing: Decadence,” according to Wright. This course focuses on the themes of moral and cultural decline across civilizations.

“At the time I took it because it was a requirement,” Wright said. “But Professor Stephanic definitely left an impression on me by proving that learning doesn’t have to be a stressful or painful experience.”