Course Description: 

From Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Stephenie Meyer’s Edward, vampires have evolved from seductive villains to troubled heroes, each embodying fears haunting their historical moment. Develop an appreciation for the roots of the American mystery and horror genres through reading, interpreting, and writing about short stories and pinnacle novels by Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice, and more. Explore our culture’s fascination with those dwelling on the boundaries between evil and virtue, and life and death.  Examine your own fears and attraction to mysteries and horror in order to understand the real psychology underlying these fantasies that both attract and repel us

Course Details: 

• 4 Credits
• CRN 12078
• MWF 10-10:50
• 260 CON

About the Instructor: Kristy Bryant-Berg

Kristy’s academic interests include 20th Century American prose, trauma theory, African American novels, and Native American literature. She recently edited a Casebook, Entertaining Violence, for University of Oregon’s Composition program that examines Americans’ fascination with violence in TV, films, video games, and photojournalism. Kristy has always enjoyed tales about things that go bump in the night, especially vampires.