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The Real History of Dracula

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The Real History of Dracula

Written by: Sara Cleto, Brittany Warman, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Sara Cleto, Brittany Warman
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About this listen

There are few fictional characters who have entrenched themselves so thoroughly in the popular imagination as Count Dracula. Although legends of vampires and other blood-thirsty creatures existed long before him, Dracula has become the ultimate apotheosis of the vampiric monster. He has spawned an entire industry of books, films, television shows, and other forms of media devoted to the vampire.

In the 10 episodes of The Real History of Dracula, folklorists Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman, of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, will shine a light into the dark recesses of our cultural obsession with vampires. Using folklore, literature, history, television, film, and more, Sara and Brittany will show you how—and why—vampires are a potent metaphor for what matters most about the human condition.

The vampire existed long before Bram Stoker introduced readers to the Count from Transylvania. Having been a staple of popular culture for a century since, Dracula is more than just another rendition of a common folkloric monster. He is arguably one of the most influential fictional characters of the last century.

Times may have changed since Dracula became the definitive vampire of the modern era, but many of our fears have not. So much of what Dracula represented to his fin de siècle audience remains part of our consciousness—our fears and desires may shift to reflect our time and place, yet the human condition remains much the same. Vampires since Dracula have taken on different aspects to reflect their times and the lore changes to suit new sensibilities, demonstrating the vampire’s cunning ability to thrive in multiple cultures, genres, and mediums. As Sara and Brittany make clear throughout this course, folklore is not just a thing of the past, but rather a living, growing, continual presence in our lives. As a part of this living tradition, the vampire has become truly immortal.

Vampires continue to be part of our cultural conversation, and there’s no sign that that will end any time soon. They are tools for understanding the world and, therefore, are more significant than they might first appear. They teach us about our anxieties and our desires—particularly the ones we’re afraid to speak out loud.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 The Great Courses (P)2023 The Teaching Company, LLC
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So many interesting tidbits!

There were many things even in my research that I learned that was new in this audiobook. Great read.

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Delivers the Dracula

Entertaining and informative. I was familiar with a lot of the material but found the portions dealing with vampire connections to fairy tales most interesting.

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The cover image ought to be 2 podcasters laughing

I've listened to many titles from The Great Courses series and I've never encountered a presentation like this. There are jokes about how 'The Destroyer' is a great name for a cat. There are jokes about hanging intestines up like Christmas decorations. The two podcasters laugh and joke with each other constantly, which is an experience I can get elsewhere for free. They frequently say that there will be more on a subject 'in the next episode', as if this were something less than 'The Great Courses' I paid money for.

In 1963, a highschooler wrote to some famous authors, asking them if they intentionally placed symbols and metaphors into their works. The response was mixed, but at the very least, showed that English teachers work too hard extracting hidden meanings into works of fiction that were not there. This is rampant in the podcast, as 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' is obviously about women's sexuality, and 'Interview with a Vampire' is obviously about sex, gender, race, LGBT and other modern social justice issues. These are themes nobody outside of English departments can find. It's almost as if these themes say more about the thoughts of the examiner than the subject itself. Here's a direct quote from Anne Rice "From the beginning, I've had gay fans, and gay readers who felt that my works involved a sustained gay allegory ... I didn't set out to do that, but that was what they perceived"

It's very odd, because when it comes to historical claims, the podcasters are careful to qualify them as unproven, or lacking conclusive evidence. Their symbolic analysis on the other hand, is presented as hard unarguable facts.

I want my money back

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