Program Description

This four-week University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty-led program titled Vampires on the Border explores the origins of European “vampire plagues” which emerged in the areas of intense cultural contact between different civilizations during the 17th and 18th centuries. The course is conducted in Istria, one of the “border zones” which is today located in Croatia, a meeting place of Slavic, Romance and Germanic cultural traditions. Students will be based in Rovinj, a beautiful museum-city on the shores of the Adriatic sea, taking classes in the Italian cultural center located in a 17th century villa.

Rovinj was an island until the 17th century when the narrow channel separating the city from the mainland was filled to accommodate the growing population of the area as a naval and mercantile outpost of the Venetian Republic. The area has a rich historical legacy due to the constant exchange between Slavic, Latin, and Germanic cultures. The residents of Rovinj are bilingual. Croatian and Italian are used interchangeably. Due to tourism and its border location, many of its residents also speak German and English. Istria is an excellent setting for UW-Madison students with diverse linguistic backgrounds or with no language abilities other than English.

Academics

The program format will emphasize an interactive and interdisciplinary approach, with a minimum of lecturing from local anthropologists, sociologists and cultural activists and a maximum of discussion and immersion into the culturally diverse context of the Istrian peninsula. The activities will include field trips to the archeological sites from Roman times, as well as to the more recent monuments from Venetian and Austro-Hungarian periods. Special attention will be paid to the emergence of Gothic culture in the region. Students will be required to keep a dialogue journal of their experience in and out of class – this journal will be the basis for the grade for the course, along with presentations on class readings and participation in class discussions.

This international seminar is worth four credits. Students will earn credit in either Slavic 245: Topics in Slavic Literature (undergraduate students) or Slavic 755: Topics in Slavic Literature (graduate students).

Housing

Housing and two daily meals are included in the program fee and will be provided by a hotel located in Rovinj. Students stay in double rooms with other program participants and get breakfast and dinner daily. Accommodations are centrally located in Rovinj.

Excursions and Activities

Students will participate in field trips to the sites where vampires’ legends have originated in the past. Field trips will be made to three different areas: South Istria, Central Istria and Trieste, Italy. In South Istria, students will visit Vodnjan, a church with mummies and Dvigrad, a medieval ruined city among other locations. In Central Istria, students will visit Kringa, the village haunted by Jure Grando, the first European vampire to be described by the German historian, Valvassor in 1672. In Italy, students will visit Risiero di San Saba, a World War II Memorial of the concentration camp among other sites.