Vampire Fiction

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge required, although the reading of the set texts is essential. Previous students will enjoy returning to study new book titles.

Content of Course

While the legend of the Undead appears to be as old as time, the creation of literary works about the vampire dates back only to the Romantic Era of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries.  We will trace this literary tradition from its inception with Lord Byron and Dr Polidori through its Victorian and fin de siècle heyday with Bram Stoker and Dracula, leading up to such contemporary authors as Anne Rice, Tanith Lee and Poppy Z Brite. Along the way, we will explore how vampires have always served as a ‘dark mirror’ for the societies that wrote and fantasised about them. Whatever a society seeks to disown or disavow seems to become present in the figure of the vampire. This is equally true in vampire fiction and in the representation of vampires in cinema, TV, visual art and other areas of popular culture.

Teaching method(s)

Tutorial based.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be able to:

• Identify literary techniques and devices in a variety of texts.

• Analyse and evaluate syntax, figurative language and narrative mechanisms.

• Discuss the relationship between a vampire narrative and the social context in which it is told.

• Analyse how variations in the vampire myth may be influenced by a society’s changing fears and changing notions of family.

• Compare and contrast vampire fictions from three different decades and three continents.

Sources

Core Readings

Apart from The Best Vampire Stories, all texts are available in multiple editions. Any complete edition is acceptable for the purposes of this course:

• Barger, Andrew (ed.) (2012) The Best Vampire Stories, 1800-1849, New York, BottleTree.
• Brite, Poppy Z (1994) Lost Souls, London, Penguin.
• Lee, Tanith (2018) Dark Dance, London, Immanion.
• Rice, Anne (2008) Interview with the Vampire, London, Sphere.
• Stoker, Bram. (2003). Dracula, London, Penguin Classics.

Class Handouts

Handouts will be provided.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.