Posted on 04/06/2010 12:46:24 PM PDT by Sax
A British university is to hold a conference on Vampires in an effort to counterbalance the "Americanization" of the fictional genre.
Delegates to the University of Hertfordshire's "Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture" conference to be held on April 16-17 will have their food served to them out of coffins as part of a mission to encourage students of all ages to study literature.
English lecturer Sam George, who has just launched a Master of Arts degree in vampire fiction at Hertfordshire, said the most famous vampire narrative of all, Dracula, was written by Irishman Bram Stoker and set in London and Whitby in Yorkshire, but that now with the "Twilight" saga and "True Blood," modern vampires have become Americanized.
"The new breed of vampires are far from monstrous, they are glamorous and sexy and have an emotional side," she said. "Their (teenagers') attraction to vampire figures provides a safe way for them to acknowledge these desires."
Conference lectures will be delivered by academics and author Marcus Sedgwick, who writes young adult fiction with a vampire twist.
Panel topics during the two-day event will include "Dracula Lives," "Appetites of the Undead," "Undead Victorians," "Undead Teens," "Politics of the Undead," "Undead Romance," "The Gay Undead," "Undead TV," "Undead in the New Media," "Identity, Legality and the Undead" and "Gendering the Undead."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Oh yeah. That'll do the trick.
I would imagine the vote democratic...
The Vampire legends were far reaching throughout Europe. It was Bram Stoker's sanguin stories that added flesh and blood to the mysteries of Transylvania.
Blah, Blah Blah!
Well Britain, you’ve already allowed the Muslims to immigrate. Might as well let the vampires come home too. It’s not like it’s going to make things worse.
Dracula wasn’t British! He was born in Transylvania which is in present-sday Romania and was known as Vlad The Impaler for the cruel punishments he imposed on his enemies. He is also known for his resistance against the Ottoman Empire (aka Muslim jihadis) and its expansion.
Nosferatu is the creepiest. I remember seeing his image on TV when I was a kid and he’s creeped me out ever since.
The book Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic. Everyone should read.
And was only there to help you.
Personally, I think Stoker did a diservice to Vlad Tepes. If it weren't for the brutality Vlad III was willing to inflict upon the Ottomans, history would look very very different. I think we can see now, even in the 21st century, barbaric cruelty was instrumental in holding back the Muslim hordes, since violence seems to be the only thing they understand and respect.
I agree. We need more people like him to help push back against the Muslim horde. Not in terms of cruelty but just using the necessary force to teach the jihadis respect for Western culture.
Something everyone forgets is,
Who killed Dracula?
No, it was not Van Helsing with a wooden stake. It was an American (Texan) Quincy Morris with a Bowie knife.
“Master of Arts degree in vampire fiction “
about as useful finding a real job as a Womyn’s Studies degree.
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