English 2316: Literature & Culture
Tues & Thurs 11:30a-1p, Room T 120K
Eva L. Foster / evalfoster@yahoo.com
Office hrs: 3:30-4:30 Thurs & by appt / Office loc: 101c RG Cullen Bldg
Course blog: www.engl2316.wordpress.com
Required Texts:
 Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Ed. Glennis Byron. Petersborough: Broadview. 1998. ISBN 1-55111136-5.
 King, Stephen. Salem’s Lot. Pocket Books. ISBN 0671039741.
 Harris, Charlaine. Dead Until Dark. New York: Ace. 2001. ISBN 0441008534.
 Lindqvist, John Ajvide. Let the Right One In. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2004. ISBN
0312355297.
 All other assigned readings will be available either online or via packets handed out in class.
For online readings, you must either print out a copy to bring to class or bring a laptop
capable of accessing the readings to class on the day the readings are discussed.
COURSE POLICIES
Course Description
This course will explore the evolution of the “Dracula” character and vampire figures in general both
before and after Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula. We will arrange our investigations
chronologically, beginning with pre-Dracula mythology about vampires in cultures across the globe,
with special attention to mythology that informed Stoker's creative process. The course will trace the
evolution of mythology about vampires from oral tradition to our modern mythology of literature and
film.
It will also trace the symbolic importance of the vampire figure, paying close attention to the use of
the vampire figure to process cultural anxieties and theories about the Other. More specifically,
we will look at the vampire figure in Western literature and film and the way it – and the idea of
the “monstrous” in general – is used to consider “transgressive” sexualities and genders and
othered races and ethnicities. We will also examine whether the gradual change of the vampire
figure from repugnant to largely admirable or even desirable in contemporary literature and film is
part of a shift in social attitudes toward the Other, or whether the vampire figure has simply
become a site for new anxieties and desires.
Grading:
Homework and quizzes
Blog
Paper 1 (4-5 pgs)
Paper 2 (4-5 pgs)
Paper 3 (5-6 pgs)
Professionalism
5%
20%
15%
20%
30%
10%
You must turn in all three papers to receive a passing grade in the course.
Assignments Overview
 Blogs:
o Each of you will have a blog on Wordpress.com, which you will create in the first
week of class as part of your homework. The software is very easy to use.
o Each week, you will respond to our readings with a post ranging from 300-600
words, published on your blog. Some weeks, I will leave the topic open and you can
choose how to respond. Other weeks, I will use my own course blog (see address at
top of this handout) to assign a topic for you to address in your weekly blog. The
weekly post isn’t listed as homework on the syllabus, but it is required—so be
careful not to forget about it!
o You also have the option to use the blog as a place to hash out ideas for your essays,
short creative works, collections of images related to the reading, and so on.
Creativity on your blog and an effort to use it as a real space to conduct research for
papers/work through the texts can help your blog grade at the end of the semester.
 Homework and Quizzes:
o I may assign other short writing exercises as needed. These will be announced in
class.
o From time to time, I will give reading quizzes to encourage people to keep up with
the reading.
 Papers
o Paper 1 will be a response to one of a list of prompts I provide for you and will
involve no outside reading.
o Paper 2 will have a small research component and will also have a creative option.
o Paper 3 will involve a significant research component.
o More details about papers will be forthcoming on assignment sheets.
Course Policies

All assignments not completed in class should be typed, printed in black ink, in 11 or 12
point Times New Roman. All assignments must have student’s name, the date, and page
numbers. Print must be dark enough to read easily. Assignments are accepted via Turnitin
or hard copy (I will specify which). Assignments are not accepted via email.
Assignments that don’t meet these standards run the risk of getting an automatic zero.

Students must turn in all three essays to be eligible to pass the course. Failure to turn in all
three essays is an automatic F in the course.

Please turn in assigned work on time. Late essays will lose ten points for each class period
they are late. Late homework will not be accepted at all unless you have an excused
absence (see below).

You are expected to attend class. Other than religious holidays, as detailed below, only
University-sponsored activities count as excused absences. Religious holidays and
university-sponsored activities are excused only if you submit a notice to me stating your
intention in advance of the absence. Illness does not count as an excused absence under
English department policies, even with a doctor’s note. However, you are allowed up to
four unexcused absences (for illness or other reasons) without penalty. Any unexcused
absences in excess of those four will result in your professionalism grade becoming an F.
 When you miss class, you are still responsible for what happens in class. Contact another
student in your section to confirm your assignments for next time (the syllabus is subject to
change, and I will announce changes in class) and to copy notes. I am glad to meet with
you during office hours to go over your questions about what you missed, but I won’t send
you a summary of my lecture and our activities via email.

You are expected to do your own work. The University of Houston Academic Policies define
and prohibit academic dishonesty as follows: “’Academic dishonesty’ means employing a
method or technique or engaging in conduct in an academic endeavor that the student
knows or should know is not permitted by the university or a course instructor to fulfill
academic requirements” (Article 3.02; see Student Handbook URL www.uh.edu/dos/hdbk
for further details). The primary concern in this course is plagiarism, again defined in the
Academic Honesty Policy: “Representing as one’s own work the work of another without
acknowledging the source.” Academic dishonesty can result in failure of the
assignment or the course, and/or suspension from or expulsion from the University.

You are responsible for saving copies of any work turned in for grading. Never give me
your only copy!

You are responsible for behaving professionally and in a way suitable for a classroom
environment. Please see “Professionalism” section for details.
Professionalism




Classroom discussion should be civilized, respectful to everyone, and relevant to the
topic we are discussing. Racist, sexist, ableist, lookist, ageist, homophobic, and any other
discriminatory language and behavior will not be tolerated. It is possible to discuss all
topics from any political point of view while adhering to this level of civility.
Please be on time. If you’re not on time, come in quietly, and confirm at the end of class
that I marked you as present.
Laptops are welcome if you take notes best by typing or want to bring in drafts in that
form. That said, if you are obviously surfing or if your laptop seems to be distracting you
from book or discussion work, I will ask you to close your laptop.
Come to class prepared. Being prepared means:
o Reading the material before class and being ready to discuss it;
o Bringing your book, notebook, and pens to every class, along with any other
required materials (e.g., drafts of your paper on draft workshop days);
o When you are absent, contacting another student in the class to find out what you
missed so you can be prepared for the next class.
 Don’t start packing up until class is over. Class is over when I release the class. If you
start packing up early, you may miss something important; you may keep someone else
from hearing something important; or you may distract me, which hurts everyone else.
 Respect everyone’s right to a non-disruptive learning environment. This means the
following:
o Not talking to each other when I am talking or when another student is talking. If I
have to ask you to stop doing this more than once in a given class, I may ask you to
leave the class for the day, in which case that will count as one of your unexcused
absences.
o Turning off your cell phones in class. If you have a special reason your cell phone
must be on, please discuss this with me before class begins to get my permission,
and sit near the door so you can duck out if it does ring.
o Any continued disruption of class will result in a report to the Dean of Students
Office for a conduct code infraction. After one warning, if the disruption continues,
you will be asked to leave the classroom for the remainder of class.
 Professionalism expectations extend beyond the classroom. Your actions (negative
and positive) in office hours, email, instant messaging/chat/bulletin boards, listservs, and
course blogs also affect your professionalism grade and count as part of your class
participation.
SYLLABUS
Subject to change. Changes will be announced either in class or on the blog. You are
responsible for all changes whether you are present or not when they are announced.
Week 1
Tues 8/24—Introduction(s)
HW: Mythology packet
Thurs 8/26—Mythology lecture & discussion
HW: Gothic period readings / vampire origins
Mon 8/30 Last day to add a class
Week 2
Tues 8/31—The Gothic as genre: lecture & discussion
HW: Gothic period readings / vampire origins, cont.
Thurs 9/2—Romantics, the Gothic, and vampire symbology
HW: Victorian Vampires packet
Mon 9/6 Labor Day holiday
Week 3
Tues 9/7—Victorian vampires and foundations for Dracula
HW: Dracula pgs 29-94
Wed 9/8
Official Reporting Day / 12th class day
Last day to drop w/out grade or use of enrollment cap hrs
Thurs 9/9—Dracula lecture & dicussion
HW: Dracula pgs 95-153
Week 4
Tues 9/14—Dracula lecture & discussion
HW: Dracula pgs 154-199
Thurs 9/16—Dracula lecture & discussion; discuss Nosferatu
HW: Dracula pgs 200-256
Week 5
Tues 9/21—Dracula lecture & discussion
HW: Dracula pgs 257-419
Thurs 9/23—Finish up Dracula discussion; discuss 1931 Dracula
HW: Early 20th-century vampires packet
Week 6
Tues 9/28—Early 20th-century vampires lecture & discussion; discuss 1958 Dracula
HW: Mid-century vampires packet
Thurs 9/30—Paper 1 Due
Mid-century vampires lecture & discussion
HW: Late-century vampires packet
Week 7
Tues 10/5—Late-century vampires lecture & discussion; discuss Blade
HW: Begin Salem's Lot (pages TBA)
Thurs 10/7—Salem's Lot lecture & discussion
HW: Salem's Lot (pages TBA)
Week 8
Tues 10/12—Salem's Lot lecture & discussion
HW: Salem's Lot (pages TBA)
Thurs 10/14—Salem's Lot lecture & discussion; discuss Shadow of the Vampire
HW: Finish Salem's Lot
Week 9
Tues 10/19—Wrap up Salem's Lot; 21st-century vampires lecture
HW: Dead Until Dark (pages TBA)
Thurs 10/21—Dead Until Dark lecture & discussion; discuss Buffy episodes
HW: Dead Until Dark
Week 10
Tues 10/26—Dead Until Dark lecture & discussion
HW: Finish Dead Until Dark
Thurs 10/28—Paper 2 Due
Wrap up Dead Until Dark; discuss True Blood episodes
HW: LTROI
Week 11
Tues 11/2—LTROI lecture & discussion
HW: LTROI
Wed 11/3 Last day to drop with a “W”
Thurs 11/4—LTROI lecture & discussion; discuss 30 Days of Night
HW: LTROI
Week 12
Tues 11/9—LTROI lecture & discussion
HW: LTROI
Thurs 11/11—LTROI lecture & discussion; discuss Let the Right One In (film)
HW: LTROI
Week 13
Tues 11/16—LTROI wrapup; intro urban fantasy unit
HW: urban fantasy packet 1
Thurs 11/18—Urban fantasy packet 1 lecture & discussion; discuss Daybreakers
HW: urban fantasy packet 2
Week 14
Tues 11/23—Urban fantasy packet 2 lecture & discussion; discuss Twilight
HW: Complete your essay!
Wed 11/24 – Sat 11/27 Thxgiving holiday
Thurs 11/25—NO CLASS
Week 15
Tues 11/30—Essay 3 workshop
HW: Revise your essay
Thurs 12/2—Essay 3 due
Course overview lecture: theories & genres of the vampire figure
LAST CLASS DAY
HW: Complete your blogs
Week 16
Thurs 12/9: Blogs due, including all extra materials
Sat 12/4 Last day of classes
Wed 12/8 – Thurs 12/16 Final examination period
Fri 12/17 Official closing of fall semester