An International Conference at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London
Date: Wednesday, 2 November - Friday, 4 November 2011
URL: http://igrs.sas.ac.uk/events/conferences-workshops/vampires-myths-of-the-past-and-future.html
Subject of presentation: Vampires and Stereotypes: Post-Stoker Imagined Transylvania


As a participant in this conference, I have observed the latest tendencies in the field of research and I had the opportunity to meet some personalties of Dracula studies.

I presented in plenary session the paper
"Vampires and Stereotypes: Post-Stoker Imagined Transylvania".


Agenda:

Friday, 4 November 2011
16.10 Plenary Session: Theory of the Undead II (Chair: Sam George)
Marius Crisan (Timişoara): 'Vampires and Stereotypes: Post-Stoker Imagined Transylvania'
Sarah Horgan (Canterbury): 'The Anglo-Irish Vampire: Constructions of a Conflicted National Identity in the 19th-Century Gothic Text'
Bernhard Unterholzner (Gießen): 'Tracing Translation: Vampires, Media, Enlightenment'

The paper focused on some of the results of the research which I developed within the frame of this project in 2011. I focused on the literary texts which carry on the stereotype of Transylvania as the land of vampires, constructed in Bram Stoker's Dracula, referring to several sequels of this famous novel. On the other hand, I also referred to some works which deconstruct this image and emphasise the Romanian spiritual and material values.

I received a very useful feed-back from the participants in the conference.

I presented papers in the following international conferences and symposia:

1. "Bram Stoker and the Gothic Transylvania", Bram Stoker Centenary Conference 2012: Bram Stoker and Gothic Transformations. 12-14 April 2012, University of Hull, U. K. link 1, link 2

2. "British Travel Notes on Romanian Music" East-West Cultural Passage Conference: Literature and Music. Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Faculty of Letters and Arts and Roehampton University London, Department of English and Creative Writing, 10 - 12 May 2012. click here

3. "Real and Imaginary Walks in Timişoara: Representations of the City in British and American Literatures", International Conference British and American Studies/22 West University of Timişoara, Department of English, 17 - 19 May, 2012. click here

4. "British Perspectives on Romania's Nature", International Conference (M)other Nature? Inscriptions, Locations, Revolutions, English Department, University of Bucharest, 31 May - 2 June 2012. click here

5. "Simbolul oglinzii în Dracula de Bram Stoker şi B. Stoker şi Contele Dracula de D. R. Popescu." Colocviul Internaţional de Comunicare şi Culturã în România Europeanã, 15 - 16 iunie 2012, West University of Timişoara, Faculty of Letters, History and Theology and "Politehnica" University of Timişoara click here

6. "Perceptions of Romanian spirituality: Nina Elizabeth Mazuchelli, Dervla Murphy and Caroline Juler" International Conference Routes and Roots: Identity and Cultural Exchange in Travel and Tourism. University of Aveiro, Portugal, 28 - 29 June 2012. click here 7. "Representations of the Romanian Space in Dracula Sequels" International Conference Dracula and the Gothic in Literature, Pop Culture and the Arts. 29 - 30 June 2012, Braga, Portugal. click here

Other events

In April I participated in the following events in London which marked the commemoration of 100 years since the death of Bram Stoker:

1. The book launch The Lost Journal of Bram Stoker edited by Elizabeth Miller and Dacre Stoker at the offices of Biteback Publishing, London. The event was organised by Biteback Publishing, the editors and members of the Stoker Family. Some of the main specialists in Dracula Studies participated in the event: Elizabeth Miller, Clive Leatherdale, Clive Bloom, David Punter, William Hughes, Robert Eighteen-Bisang, etc.




2. Bram Stoker Centenary Symposium, organised by Dr Sam George, University of Hertfordshire at John Keats's House, Hampstead, London.

3. The visit to Golders Green crematorium, where the funeral urn of Bram Stoker is deposited - an activity which was included in Stoker Centenary Symposium. The main participants in this event were Stoker Family, literary critics (Sir Christopher Frayling, Elizabeth Miller, William Hughes, Sam George, etc.), members of Dracula Society, and the press.



4. Bram Stoker Centenary Celebration, organised by The Dracula Society and The Lyceum Theatre in London (whose manager Bram Stoker was for twenty years).

West University of Timişoara, Vasile Pârvan Blvd. 4, 18 July 2013

Opening: Professor dr. Otilia Hedeşan, Director CSUD, West University of Timişoara; mentor of the research project.

Session I: 16⁰⁰ - 17²⁰

Senior Lecturer Dr. MARIUS CRIŞAN, Dracula and the Fictional Representation of the Romanian Space. Besides this topic, the presentation included references to the main activities and events of the project.

Professor Dr. OTILIA HEDEŞAN, Romanian Vampiric Complex. Mythology and Geography

The lecture was focused on the analysis of the mythological complex of the vampire in Romanian folklore.

17²⁰ - 17³⁰ Coffee break

Session II: 17³⁰ - 18³⁰

Professor Dr. FARKAS JENÖ, University Eötvös Lóránd Budapest, The Image of Dracula for Contemporaries and Posterity. The presentation included a synthesis of the history of the evolution of Dracula's image since the medieval portraits to cinema and other contemporary media representations.

In the presentation About a Philosophy of the Brand: Dracula as a Multilayered Identity, Senior lecturer dr. CLAUDIU MESAROŞ spoke about Dracula as branding and the image of Romania.

Several teachers and researchers participated in the debates of the conference: Professor dr. Georgiana Lungu Badea, Associate Professor dr. Gheorghe Clitan, Associate Professor dr. Smaranda Vultur, Associate Professor dr. Ioan Vultur, Senior lecturer dr. Simona Adam, Senior lecturer dr. Anca Franţ, Senior lecturer Andreea Gheorghiu, Senior lecturer Ramona Hurduzeu, Senior lecturer dr. Lucian Drǎguţ, Senior lecturer dr. Maria Lungu, Senior lecturer dr. Monica Oprescu, Senior lecturer dr. Carmen Ţîru, researcher dr. Corina Popa, junior lecturer Iulia Cosma, dr. Irina Dincǎ, etc.; guests from U.K.: Nick Green and Lizz Mellis, PhD candidate, University College of London; teachers from local high schools: Viorica Gyovai, Tatiana Krista, Rodica Sirca-Belintan etc., PhD candidates, postgraduate and undergraduate students.

Workshop: Space and Myth in Literature: Imagological Approaches and Didactic Perspectives. 18³⁰ - 20¹⁵

Professor dr. Otilia Hedeşan opens the debate on "this fascinating theme" which "cannot be avoided". Senior lecturer dr. Claudiu Mesaroş considers that it is a chance for Romania to be associated with such a powerful image. Associate Professor Dr. Smaranda Vultur speaks about the effect of the globalisation, which makes identitary discourses coexist with postmodern globalising perspectives.

Junior lecturer dr. Cosmina Lungoci opens the debate on didactic aspects related to the interest of the pupils in fantastic literature, and the teachers from the local secondary schools (Viorica Gyovai and Rodica Sirca-Belintan) refer to the preferences of the young readers. Professor Farkas mentions the use of the image of Dracula in some school books in Germany and UK, which were successful for the young readers.

Senior lecturer dr. Maria Niculescu speaks about the theory of transforming the barrier into resources, which can also be applied to these imagological and didactic contexts.