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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences Professor Sinks His Teeth into Research, Courses on Vampirism and Myth
(from left) Jim Doan, Ph.D., professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, stands with Barbara Brodman, Ph.D., professor in the college, in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.
Society’s long-standing fascination with vampires has prompted Jim Doan, Ph.D., professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, to research the subject from a literary, mythical, and historical perspective. On Nov. 3, he presented a paper at Vampires: Myths of the Past and the Future, an international conference at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London.
Doan’s paper, titled “‘For the Blood is the Life’: Myths and Rituals of Vampirism in Southwest and Plains Indian Cultures,” describes in detail various Native American and Mesoamerican myths and rituals dealing with vampirism. The research also includes photos of paintings and sculptures, which provide a visual perspective to the texts included in the paper.
Doan’s research will also be featured as a chapter in an upcoming two-volume book series on the vampire that he is co-editing with Barbara Brodman, Ph.D., professor in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.
This winter, Doan will incorporate his research on vampirism into curricula for two courses: HUMN 4310 The Vampire and HUMN 3300 Native American Myth and Storytelling, offered in the college’s Division of Humanities.