How to Incorporate Vampires in the Classroom
The myth of vampires actually comes from Russia, and later transferred to Transylvania due to a real historical figure: Vladimir Dracul, or Vlad the Impaler. Bram Stoker based his version of Dracula off of Vladimir Dracul, as his name is translated to Dracula. Vladimir Dracul was the Prince of Walachia, a part of Transylvania. He was known for impaling his victims and deterring the Turks from an invasion due to the impaled victims being decapitated and then displayed on a pole surrounding Vladimir Dracul's home, as well as being cruel and having terrible punishments and torture techniques.
Why is it important to know about Vladimir Dracul and the character Dracula's origin? It is important (and interesting) to know how a myth affects modern day culture. Western culture (America) loves their horror movies (me not so much), but vampires became very popular. However, Vladimir Dracul is seen as a hero to his people and they do not like how Dracula, mostly portrayed as a bad guy, is compared to and based off their hero (though, Vladimir Dracul was an interesting person and his methods of ruling his country were questionable). Their government puts up with it though as vampire tourism is one of the ways that their country brings in money, and they also host a vampire film festival.
While this topic can fall more into a history class, there are still many aspects for the topic to count as an English topic, as vampires can count as the horror or mystery genre, and students can be given certain qualities of vampires, and they can then write their own stories, which then becomes more of a storytelling topic, which is how the vampire myth started.
https://theconversation.com/five-vampire-traits-that-exist-in-the-natural-world-104957
https://www.britannica.com/topic/vampire
https://unnaturalworld.fandom.com/wiki/Vampires
The three links posted above give a bit of history about vampires and some of their characteristics, such as immortality, shape shifting, no reflection in the mirror, heightened senses, and being vulnerable to sunlight, just to name a few. The links also offer different insights, such as comparisons to animals, a brief history of Vladimir Dracul, and a full list of weaknesses and added special characteristics. Again, vampires are not real, but there has become sort of an agreement about what a vampire 'is'.
A classroom friendly text would be Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and a novel "Vlad the Impaler: A Life From Beginning to End (Medieval History)" by Hourly History. Though, I have not read the latter yet. The following link also gives a history of Vlad the Impaler.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Walachia
I would honestly like to know about the myths from Russia and other ancient texts, as well as how much of a tour destination Transylvania really is. I know I personally want to travel to Transylvania and visit the supposed Dracula's castle, but there is no concrete evidence as to if the castle was actually Dracula's castle, but it is still a popular tourist destination. Below is a picture of Bran Castle (supposedly Dracula's castle) and below that is a link with information on tours.
I realize these are links as opposed to texts that are classroom friendly, but I will need to conduct some more research to look for actual books that are not Dracula, Twilight, or Nosferatu.
Hi Krystine, I know you brought up this topic in class yesterday and I thought it was a cool take on the inquiry blog post. It will be fun to learn more about vampires with an academia focus. I do not know a lot about vampires or their origin so I look forward to finding out more through out this semester via your blog! I will be teaching science fiction literature next semester so maybe one of your stories will work for our short story unit - we will see! The pictures were a good addition to this post!
ReplyDeleteHi Krystine! I find this topic to be so interesting. I think it is a great way for students to get interested in the class and what is being taught. I follow this group on youtube that goes to different haunted places and actually one of their places they went was Dracul's castle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVGwnroncDY&t=2832s). Using this topic that most students should know about as a way to talk about myths from Russia and other ancient texts is such an interesting way! I had a class in high school that was on religion and myths and I absolutely loved it. Would this topic be for high school students? I am excited to see more from you!
ReplyDeleteHey Cali,
DeleteYes, this would be for high schoolers, or even college if I get my PHD. UWM offers a vampire folklore class through the religious studies program, and I took that class a few semester ago and I am also a Classics major which is Greek, Roman, and Egyptian, but learning about stories is a fun way to learn about that culture and for students to make connections through storytelling and why storytelling is important. Also, it is around Halloween, which is my favorite holiday and vampires is what came to mind, so I am hoping my ideas match potential lesson plans.
Hi Krystine
ReplyDeleteI like your research topic, because I think vampires are a classic topic that will never go out of style. Whether discussing vampires in history class or English class, it will be a focus that attracts students' attention. So eager to read your upcoming posts!
Krystine, the topic of vampires has much appeal in popular culture and as you show history. The folklore course you describe above shows how rich the creature is across cultures. I look forward to seeing what texts you gather for your students on this topic.
ReplyDelete