Zombies and Vampires: Fact and Fiction

Instructors: Sylvia Tomasch (English) and Derrick Brazill (Biology)
Fridays 1:00 PM – 3:40 PM
Macaulay Honors College, Classroom 3N

Why zombies?  Why vampires?  Why zombies and vampires now?  While audiences seem unable to resist the onslaught of the undead in fiction, film, television, video, graphic novels, etc., zombies and vampires don’t just live (or not live) in popular culture.  There are also important connections to pressing issues in contemporary science.  In this course, therefore, we’ll consider vampires and zombies in terms of folklore, history, politics, gender, race, and biology (to name just a few issues that will arise during the semester).  Because of the wide range of materials and approaches, students will have opportunities to focus on the areas of their greatest interest.  

Novels
Name Author ISBN
World War Z (2006) Max Brooks 0307346617
Fledgling (2005) Octavia Butler 0446696161
I am Legend (1954) Richard Matheson 0765357151
Interview with the Vampire [Part I Only] (1976) Anne Rice 0345337662
Dracula (1897) Bram Stocker 1503261387
Part of the Benjamin Cummings Special Topics in Biology Series

These books are 40-50 pages each and written at a senior high school or first-year college level.

Name Author ISBN
Emerging Infectious Diseases Stuart Hill 0805339558
Stem Cells and Cloning Kelly A. Hogan 0321590023
Understanding the Human Genome Project Michael A. Palladino 0805348778
View the preliminary syllabus Please disregard the date, time, and location mentioned in the syllabus as it was the syllabus for a past semester.

Course Number:

MHC 380