A syllabus based on some books on my shelf: Vampiric Literature (HOLL 101)

A dear friend texted me a prompt idea: "Put together a course syllabus from your collection of books, and what’s the theme and why read them together"--I thought it was a great idea, so here it goes (also, note that formatting on this blog is a tad limited, but I did my best)!

VAMPIRIC LITERATURE (HOLL 101)

Instructor Name and Preferred Title: Holly Smith (just call her Holly or she'll feel super old)

Affiliated Department/Program/Organization: Independent scholar

Degrees held: BA'14 History, minor in Statistics, Swarthmore College, MA'19 Writing, National University of Ireland, Galway (now Galway University)

Course Description

HOLL 101 invites students to delve into potential origins of European-based vampire lore and then, in turn, how vampiric characters have been portrayed throughout five different fictional works (mentioned and then listed below). Finally, what does this old lore and these texts throughout time tell us about our views of death, monsters, and what makes us human. Students will develop the ability to analyze these texts critically and creatively, engaging with the topics with a fuller understanding of how the vampire came to be while reflecting on the connection between lore, biology, history, religion, and literature. Through close readings of the six texts (again, listed below), students will amplify their understanding of the legendary being that is a the vampire as well as their ability to question the root of so called monsters--whether they be from biology, history, religion, or any other source that humans try to understand. Reading assignments and peer discussions will bolster students' engagement.

The first text we will read is Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality; With a New Preface by Paul Barber. This is an academic text that provides immense detail on vampires in the European tradition. This will thus be our basis to understand European-based vampire lore.

Next we will read Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. While many assume Dracula was the first vampire novel, it was not. While Carmilla does not hold that distinction either, it does pre-date Dracula by 25 years. Carmilla is a novella that is told from the point of view of a young woman named Laura. Laura will tell of her entanglements with the mysterious, yet deeply magnetic Carmilla. Throughout this novel there are themes of sapphic love and desire, innocence versus corruption, and the supernatural. I wanted to start with this novella to first dismiss the notion that Dracula began an entirely new genre of horror. While there are older vampire novels, I have not read them. I found Carmilla to be a bewitching read.

Of course, any course on vampires would be remiss not to cover Dracula by Bram Stoker, so that will be the next text. Fictionally cobbled together from letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles, Dracula has more than one narrator who contributes to this tale of power, desire, and danger. As mentioned, Dracula was not the first vampire novel, but it is most certainly the most iconic. While it is probably the work I enjoyed the least of these works, I think it would be odd not to include it.

Next we will leap forward in time to The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. Originally published in 2020 (though I do list the 2021 paperback below), Hendrix's work focuses on a group of connected women whose lives all change to deep horror upon the arrival of a mysterious stranger. As they struggle to accept his true nature, as well as theirs, they will ultimately band together for a solution--though perhaps not a permanent one. While I wanted to start with the older texts first, I then think the best order is from darkest text to lightest. Please note there are deeply disturbing themes and graphic depictions of violence (including sexual violence), so do not read this book if those would be upsetting to you to a point where you cannot derive anything interesting from this novel. I trust you to know your limits best, but you are also welcome to begin the novel and then abandon it later--no pressure or judgment.

We will then hop back to 2012 and Laura Bickle's The Hallowed Ones. This is by far my favorite vampire novel I have ever read. While it is part of a duology, we will just read the first book as it is the more potent one and I think reading both books would put undue weight on this story. The vampires in The Hallowed Ones are terrifying--not only are they vicious, but they are intelligent and retain the memories of their living selves. The vampires also cannot enter any place considered holy (a church, a synagogue, a mosque, an org) unless, of course, they are invited. When a dying teen boy is found at the edge of her Amish community's land, Katie must determine what to do with the boy. After all, if your home was the last safe place on Earth, would you let a stranger in? The Hallowed Ones broadens vampire lore to go beyond Christian ideology and symbols, which I found quite welcome. It also dares to ask how we corrupt spaces or even ourselves. While I will jokingly refer to this duology as the Amish vampire YA novels, they are so much more.

Finally, we will wrap up with the fairly lighthearted graphic novel Fangs by Sarah Andersen. While Andersen is perhaps best known for her comics about life, anxiety, and adulting, Fangs is one of her works that those who love vampire stories should read. In Fangs, vampire Elsie runs into a rather attractive werewolf, Jimmy, at a bar. Can their attraction lead to long term companionship or will their supernatural ways of life drive them apart? Fangs portrays a vampire as having many of the same problems humans do: dating is tough, pasts are complicated, and do we ever belong? I want to wrap up with this one because I think ending on a lighthearted note will be welcome after diving into some rather dark material and I think Fangs is a solid representation of the trend to portray vampires as being (nearly) human.

Course Learning Outcomes

After successful completion of this course, you will have:

• Honed your analytic skills, particularly with setting fictional works in their historical, religious, and literary contexts.
• Pushed yourself to question how beings become monstrous or become human, how the vulnerabilities of a "monster" can show what we value as well as what we fear, and how we definite life from death.
• Developed a deeper understanding of European-based vampire lore.
• Read both classic and lesser known European-based vampiric works.

Required Texts

In reading order

1. Barber, Paul. (2010). Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality; With a New Preface. Yale University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0300164817
2. Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan. (1872). Carmilla. British & Colonial Publishing, there are many editions, but because it is public domain, I encourage to read Carmilla on WikiSource
3. Stoker, Bram. (1897). Dracula. Archibald Constable and Company, there are many editions, but because it is public domain, I encourage to read Dracula on WikiSource
4. Hendrix, Grady. (2021). The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. Quirk Books, ISBN-13: 978-1683692515
5. Bickle, Laura. (2012). The Hallowed Ones. Graphia, ISBN-13: 978-0547859262
6. Andersen, Sarah. (2020). Fangs. Andrews McMeel Publishing, ISBN-13: 978-1524860677

Academic Integrity Statement

All students of Holly's courses should value the pursuit and cultivation of learning. It would make no sense to submit another’s (including, but not limited to generative AI) statements or ideas as one's own work as this course is purely for fun. To do so is plagiarism and means you just didn't want to do this fun course (that no one made you take). Because these offenses undercut the whole point of a fun class, Holly may choose to not offer courses to you in the future.

This policy was drawn from UChicago's "Academic Integrity & Student Conduct" page as well as UChicago's student manual's "Academic Honesty & Plagiarism" section.

Furthermore, the general format and structure of this syllabus was drawn from the "Face-to-Face Course Syllabus Template [docx]" found on the University of South Carolina's "Syllabus Templates" page.

(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)

Photo by sara sanchez sabogal on Unsplash