Becoming Vampire: Developing Creativity and Employability Skills in a Literature Module

Vampires are the ultimate adaptive predators: monsters with many faces. In my module ‘Written in Blood: Reading the Vampire,’ students follow the evolution of the literary vampire from 1819 to the present day. They are encouraged to particularly focus on the function of the vampire as a cultural disruptor who inspires the reader to question assumptions regarding gender, race, and class. By the end of the module, they should be able to appreciate the ways in which the vampire, far from being a stable signifier, is mutable and mobile. My proposed essay, therefore, will propose that students need the same adaptive skills in the real world as are displayed by the vampire in fiction. Like vampires, they need to change with the times in order to successfully negotiate change that may threaten their livelihoods. This intellectual flexibility is not just something we discuss in seminars, but a skill that this module develops through a variety of assessments. Through the use of the reading diary and the creative essay, students have to respond to the texts they read in different—and at times—challenging ways. While there remains room for traditional academic assessment on this module, students are also encouraged to take imaginative leaps, and to engage with the vampire on a creative as well an intellectual level.