<p>Abstract</p><p>In this essay I look at the change in the symbolic function of vampires, and to see this I use</p><p>Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat. My argument is that the</p><p>difference between Dracula and Lestat is basically that they represent different ideologies,</p><p>with Dracula being an imperialist, and Lestat being an anarchist. The difference is shown by</p><p>taking examples from the text of the two novels, and also taking information about the</p><p>ideologies, and seeing if the actions and thoughts of the characters match the suggested</p><p>ideology.</p><p>First, the essay looks at Dracula and his connection with imperialism, and then it turns to</p><p>Lestat and his connection with anarchism.</p><p>The conclusion is that the facts derived from the novels make it quite clear where the</p><p>political hearts of the vampires lie.</p>

The focus of this research study is on major art works produced during the nineteen-nineties by the Romanian collective subREAL, composed of Calin Dan and Josif Kiraly. The thesis is an alternative to the literal-minded and politically biased Western view typified in two major exhibitions of art from Eastern Europe: Beyond Belief: Contemporary Art from East Central Europe (Chicago, 1995) and After the Wall: Art and Culture in Post-Communist Europe (Sweden, 1999). Both exhibitions presented Post-Communist nations as a monolithic bloc, in which art was primarily a passive reflection of political and social events. It will be demonstrated that such exhibitions had consciously promoted this polarizing Western interpretation of the former socialist cultures of Eastern Europe. By contrast, the argument presented here is that subREAL did not merely transmit information and facts from remote lands, but rather explored satire as the way to engage the world around them.

The thesis analyse methods of adaptation Dracula character by using five movies in chronological order. The heart of the thesis follows changes of the character in order to relationship with other characters of the movie, also in order to narrative and ideological changes. The thesis also considers differences between individual movies and what part Dracula character takes in it.

Uppsatsen undersöker och jämför tre forskares och fem gymnasieelevers tolkningar av några olika aspekter av Bram Stokers verk Dracula. I uppsatsen har Judith Langers och Johnathan Cullers teorier inspirerat utformningen av frågeställningen som berör påverkan av litterära och andra erfarenheter. Undersökningens resultat och analys visar på både skillnader och likheter mellan forskarnas och elevernas olika tolkningar, inte minst vad gäller sexualitetens betydelse i verket. Undersökningen har också visat att elevernas tidigare erfarenheter påverkat förväntningarna på Dracula, men inte påverkat förståelsen eller tolkningarna negativt utan istället hjälpt dem genom verket.

Abstract In this essay I look at the change in the symbolic function of vampires, and to see this I use Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat. My argument is that the difference between Dracula and Lestat is basically that they represent different ideologies, with Dracula being an imperialist, and Lestat being an anarchist. The difference is shown by taking examples from the text of the two novels, and also taking information about the ideologies, and seeing if the actions and thoughts of the characters match the suggested ideology. First, the essay looks at Dracula and his connection with imperialism, and then it turns to Lestat and his connection with anarchism. The conclusion is that the facts derived from the novels make it quite clear where the political hearts of the vampires lie.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur vampyrfilmer från andra kulturer relaterar till Bram Stokers Dracula och den europeiska myten. Vampyren har varit ett forskningsämne sedan 1700-talet och sedan 90-talet har en del av vampyrforskningen fokuserat på vampyren som en postkolonial varelse. Flera studier visar på att Dracula är en representation av "de andra", men också en representation för de förtryckande kolonierna. I uppsatsen analyseras fyra filmer från olika delar av världen och kommer fram till att en vampyrfilm aldrig helt verkar kunna avvika från Dracula, men att just dessa fyra filmer tar upp viktiga frågor om hybriditet, gemenskap och relationen till kristendomen.

The topic of this thesis is architecture and settings of gothic horrors, particularly in films. The work explores the relationship between the genre of gothic horror and gothic architecture, mainly within examples of haunted castles. The aim of the work is to study in what way the haunted castles are depicted in films and how the gothic architecture is applied in their appearance. The thesis is divided in two parts. The first one is an analysis of some of the gothic horror tendencies which have an influence on the image of haunted castles. These can be observed in films as well as in literature and theatre since the beginnings of gothic horror in the second half of the 18th century until today. The second part uses these tendencies to analyse images of haunted castles in films Dracula (John Badham, 1979), Bram Stoker's Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992) and Van Helsing (Stephen Sommers, 2004).

The past few years have seen a renewed critical interest in the vampires and vampirism of English literature, owing both to their growing influence in popular culture and a more inclusive reordering of the literary canon. Much of this recent work has typically approached vampirism through a psychoanalytic lens inherited from Gothic criticism, characterized by a dependence on Freud, Lacan, and Foucault, and often by a model of crisis in which these supernatural figures of terror are supposed to symbolize cultural anxieties with varying degrees of historicity. This dissertation builds upon the narrative of secularization set out in Charles Taylor’s recent work, A Secular Age, to answer the need for a new and alternative narrative of what function the vampire serves within English literature, and how it came to prominence there. The literary history of vampirism is reconsidered in light of the new sociological observations made by Taylor, hinging upon two key methodological principles: first, that Taylor’s new secularization narrative has the potential to reshape the way we think of literature in general and our literary relationship to the supernatural in particular; and second, that the fiction generated during this period of upheaval has much more to tell us about secularization, broadening our understanding of the ideological shifts and changing relationships to the supernatural that brought forth this uniquely modern monster in literature. / Graduate / 0593 / 0318 / 0358 / glukemaynard@gmail.com

Denna uppsats menar att visa på ett samband mellan det västerländska samhällets, kulturella utveckling och förändringen i vampyrens porträttering på film. Uppsatsen kommer att fokusera på de tre aspekter: porträttering, religiösa (kristna) influenser samt makt. De två filmerna som kommer att analyseras utifrån detta är Twilight (2008) samt Dracula (1931).                       Dessa två filmer är gjorda i olika århundranden vilket kommer att visas i resultatet. Resultatet visar på att den senare filmen talar för det kulturella samhällets utveckling ifrån ett fokus på kristendomen. Det som spelar roll och ger vampyrerna ett övertag är heller inte deras odödlighet, utan deras makt eller pengar likt det postsekulära samhället vi lever i. Slutligen så talar dessa filmer om en växande rädsla för gömda hot snarare än synliga hot.

During the end of the 19th century there was a shift in the perception of femininity in England. The Victorian ideal of the Angel in the House was challenged by the idea of the New Woman. This essay attempts to answer the question how Mina Harker (née Murray) and Lucy Westenra compare to these ideas of womanhood. Lucy Westenra displays the traits of the Angel in the House, adhering closely to the Victorian norms of femininity. Mina Harker is a more complicated case, displaying traits of both the Angel in the House and the New Woman. Furthermore, Mina’s New Woman traits play an integral part of the plot, leading to Count Dracula’s defeat.