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Date: 27.10.2026Time: 13.15
Place: Reymonta 4, s. 37
The vampire has traditionally been constructed as a versatile character in fiction, as it might represent a wide variety of themes, such as sexuality, racism, biomedical paradigms and mental health struggles. In fact, this literary figure has long been used as a metaphor for illness, stigma, and Otherness in canonical works such as Dracula, Carmilla or Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. Recent studies have also examined contemporary Young Adult (henceforth YA) vampire narratives and the way they address issues related to mental health. These include depression, anxiety, and suicide, particularly in literary series such as Vampire Academy or House of Night (Stasiewicz-Bieńkowska 2021).
This opening lecture examines the representation of mental health struggles in YA American vampire fiction. It analyzes Vampire Academy, Neferet’s Curse (2013) and the TV series The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017) through the critical lenses of bibliotherapy and scriptotherapy. Here I contend that YA fiction can have a positive therapeutic potential, such as encouraging empathy and prompting readers to seek adult help. However, it might also have the opposite effect, as it can be triggering for some patients or inciting copycat tendencies in vulnerable readers. While Vampire Academy portrays recovery as achievable through emotional support and therapy – even though it also presents some controversial elements – Neferet’s Curse ultimately silences and revictimizes a sexual assault victim in a way that hinders the novella’s therapeutic potential.
Finally, The Vampire Diaries seemingly uses scriptotherapy to explore the verbalization of both Elena’s and Stephan’s traumatic experiences. Nonetheless, Stephan’s ultimate death and Elena’s re-humanization and transformation into a traditional wife and mother might oversimplify their identity quest and healing processes. This opening lecture considers both the positive aspects and limitations of these fictional works in encouraging the audience’s empathy towards the characters’ mental health struggles. Moreover, it also explores whether they might help readers and viewers suffering from similar mental health struggles to overcome them.
Dina Pedro is Assistant Professor at the Department of English and German at the University of Valencia (Spain). Her research focuses on intersections of gender and trauma in Gothic fiction, with an especial interest in the medical humanities. She is a member of the FemLit research group at the University of Valencia (GIUV2026-010) and the research project ‘Re-orienting Assemblage Theory in Anglophone Literature and Culture’ (RELY), funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain (Ref. PID2022-137881NB-I00).
[PL]
Wydarzenie można zaliczyć w ramach programu OSA:
- Opiekun: dr Anna Wyrwisz
- Liczba godzin OSA: 2 godziny
- Forma zaliczenia:
1. Osoby studiujące na I roku studiów I i II stopnia, zaliczają spotkanie OSA na podstawie podpisu na liście obecności (wg. wytycznych OSA obowiązujących dla osób rozpoczynających studia w IAiSP od roku akademickiego 2026/2027).
2. Osoby studiujące, które rozpoczęły studia przed rokiem akademickim 2026/2027 zaliczają spotkanie OSA na podstawie notatki ze spotkania, sporządzonej w języku polskim (max. 500-600 znaków), dotyczącej tematyki poruszanej podczas wykładu. Należy ją przesłać dr Annie Wyrwisz do 10.11.2026. Notatki wysłane po tym terminie nie będą przyjmowane. Podpisy na Kartach będą składane w czasie dyżurów dr Anny Wyrwisz.
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ul. Władysława Reymonta 4, 30-059 Kraków, Poland, ulica Władysława S. Reymonta 4, 30-059 Kraków, Polska, Krakow, Poland
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