Exploring the World of Vampires Through Video Games (hybrid)

Join In-Person or Virtually with Captions, Free and Open to All

Step into the shadowy realm of vampires with Professors Stanley Stepanic, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, A&S and Mark Sherriff Department of Computer Science, School of Engineering, as they trace the evolution of these iconic creatures—from their chilling origins in Slavic folklore to their modern incarnations in video games like Castlevania, Evil West, and Vampire Survivors. You’ll gain insight into the emotional appeal of vampire-themed games, including how players experience these creatures of the night. Whether you're a gamer, a folklore enthusiast, or just curious about the undead, this talk offers a unique lens into the intersection of storytelling, psychology, and interactive media.

Stanley Stepanic, Associate Professor, Department of Slavic Languages & Literatures, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences

Stanley Stepanic is an Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He is a double Hoo, having earned his MA and PhD from the University of Virginia. He has published three textbooks: Dracula or the Timeless Path of the Vampire, a comprehensive overview of the vampire from original Slavic folklore and its transformation in modern media; Russian and East European Film, a historical examination of cinema in Eastern Europe with an extensive list of film analyses and interactive questions; and Russian Folklore, the first comprehensive overview of the subject. Most recently, he published a unique blend of fiction and nonfiction, A Vamp There Was.

Stepanic is frequently invited to deliver presentations and often gives media interviews, primarily concerning the vampire. He manages an underground media site and small record label, Deaf Sparrow.

Mark Sherriff, Professor and Associate Department Chair, Department of Computer Science, and Director of the Bachelor of Science Degree Program, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Mark Sherriff is a Professor of Computer Science in the Department of Computer Science, having joined the department in 2007. He currently serves as Associate Department Chair and Director of the Bachelor of Science degree program in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. His teaching interests include software engineering, video game design, and mobile app development. His research interests are in CS education, the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), and gamification.

Sherriff has won numerous awards for his teaching, including the 2016 IEEE Computer Society Mary Kenneth Keller Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award and the 2014 University of Virginia All-University Teaching Award. In 2019, Mark became a Senior Member of the IEEE and ACM.

He received his BS in Computer Science from Wake Forest University in 2002 and his MS and PhD from NC State University in 2004 and 2007.

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This Lifetime Learning program is part of the faculty lecture series. On the mornings of home football games, hear from some of UVA’s top minds.

All talks are free, open to all, and held in-person and virtually at 10 am.

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