The Dracula Research Project
The research paper for this class will be centered on an analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and an application of themes and ideas from the text to contemporary issues. As you might have discovered by reading short fiction in this class, we can gain a deeper understanding of issues that continue to be important to us in contemporary society when we read historical works. For instance, reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” is an interesting study in gender inequality and psychology, both through an historical lens but also as a way of better understanding our current society today, and where it came from.
Here are the main details you need to know about the research paper so that you can start thinking about this assignment:
The Assignment
For this essay, you will conduct individual research to relate a specific topic or idea in Dracula – such as fear of contagion (vampirism), alienation, the threat of otherness, the uncanny, transgression, science and superstition, etc. – to a contemporary issue, such as the pandemic, immigration, or the socioeconomic divide. What can Dracula teach us about our current problem and how we can deal with it?
The Research
This essay will require substantial research, which may include scholarly sources that specifically address themes in Dracula, historical research that puts the book in context, and research on contemporary issues. You must include cited information (quotation and paraphrase) from at least 5 sources + Dracula. Your research will involve both primary and secondary sources.
Primary Sources include original literary texts and works of art (novels, short stories, poetry, films, etc.), as well as any historical documents from the time period in which the work was created (letters, diary entries, news articles, etc.), and contemporary news articles.
Secondary Sources include scholarly books and articles about the literary work, historical information written after the time period in question, and any work that includes researched material in its writing.
Though some of your sources may be primary texts you are analyzing or other outside information, at least 3 of your sources must be scholarly sources accessed through the GCC library.
This essay will be 7-8 full double-spaced pages long.
Take a quick look at what I’ve highlighted above, which I did to help focus your attention and understanding. The key point of the essay is in yellow: you are relating a particular theme or topic in Dracula with a particular contemporary issue. There are lots of examples given around that yellow highlighting; do not try to discuss all of them in your essay! Rather, you’ll want to narrow your focus on just one topic or theme in Dracula and how it relates to one contemporary issue.
The other highlighting lists different kinds of research you’ll want to do as part of this project: scholarly sources that offer literary analysis or literary criticism about Dracula, historical research if you need to explore the historical context of the book to relate it to issues that are still prevalent today, and finally research into the contemporary issue that you are connecting to the book.
Because the Library Databases will be absolutely crucial for your research, let’s go over the basics of using the library resources. I will also guide you to the best databases for this project and how to use them.
PLEASE WRITE ABOUT SCIENCE AND SUPERSTITION AND RELATE THAT TOPIC/IDEA TO THE BOOK DRACULA BY BAM STOCKER AND COMPARE IT TO A CONTEMPORARY ISSUE SUCH AS PANDAMIC, IMMAGRATION OR SOCIOECONOMIC DIVIDE. PLEASE WRITE WHAT CAN THE BOOK DRACULA TEACH US ABOUT OUR CURRENT PROBLEM AND HOW WE CAN DEAL WITH IT. PLEASE MAKE IT DETALIED AND USE SOURCES.
THIS IS FEEDBACK FROM THE PROFFESOR. Let’s take a look at your guiding question. First, we need a bit more clarity on a sentence level since we’re missing a word (“How does the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker use the topic science and superstition to the contemporary issue…”). The question isn’t quite clear yet. Science and superstition is a good starting point, but at the moment the description of your research makes it seem like this will just be an overview of the history of science and superstition. Instead, we need some kind of interesting angle to make this a complex research focus. In the novel, the characters use both science/technology and religion/superstition as a means of fighting the evil of Dracula. What ultimately is successful? Does this relate to what real people turn to as a method of fighting their fears? Do we see a continuing conflict between science and superstition today? If you dig deeper into this subject, you will likely uncover more of these complex questions that can help lend your project a stronger sense of focus.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
