Vampires, Vamps and Va Va Voom: A Critical Engagement with Paranormal Romance
A two-day symposium organised by the Sìdhe Literary Collective, Monash University, 19 & 20 September 2008 at the Japanese Studies Centre.
Despite the rise of academic interest in vampires in popular culture, vampire romance has been largely ignored. From Dracula (1897) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), romance themes have been inextricably linked to vampire narratives and the image of the vampire more broadly. Due to the commercial success of the emerging sub-genre ‘Paranormal Romance’, there has been increasing utilisation of vampire romance and related themes in other genres (such as contemporary fiction, young adult fiction and horror). Contemporary feminist scholars have not reflected upon this recent phenomenon despite the pioneering studies of Tania Modleski (1982), Janice Radway (1987) and Linda Christian-Smith (1990). The two-day symposium is an opportunity for scholars to discuss and critically examine the impact of the Undead upon the romance genre and the burgeoning industry created in its wake.
Topics of interest include:
- Vampires in Gothic and Romantic literature
- Vampire Romance and the reader
- Vampire ‘chick lit’
- Vampires in film and television
- Representations of the Slayer
- Vampires, sex and gender
- Vampires and violence
- Vampires, fashion and aesthetics
- Vampires and consumption (food, fashion and capitalism)
This event is funded by the School of English, Communications and Performance Studies, Monash University