SLAV 2360

As some people have already said, this class was honestly really overhyped and I wouldn’t really recommend it. There were a few interesting lectures but overall the content is pretty boring unless ur somehow REALLY interested in how vampires became popularized in media. Homeworks aren’t hard but u can’t miss a single one otherwise you won’t get a good grade in the class. They are pretty repetitive from lecture content too so it felt like more like annoying busywork than anything. The analysis papers we did were also pointless ngl as he requires u to only use scholarly references and connecting those to a plotless game (we analyzed Vampire Survivors this semester which is a pretty recent game too) requires pretty far fetched conclusions to be drawn. Professor Stepanic can be entertaining during class but I don’t think he cares or tries to be understanding or helpful towards his students and is pretty inflexible. I’m pretty sure he just does whatever is easiest for him. Overall, I’ve taken easier, more fun classes and have had way better professors. If you don’t need this class for a requirement, I would just save the time and effort and skip it.

Professor Stepanic is very funny and entertaining, and there were many interesting moments in his class. The first part of the course was more interesting because he'd talk about Salvic folklore and Decadence and such, but the second part was often quite boring, since the lecture would just be about a bunch of different random video games or movies. It was certainly a nice break to be able to go to Dracula, but I wish there had been more flavor towards the end of the year. Also, the in-class questions and textbook questions were uninteresting and not engaging, for the most part.

As someone in the E-School, this class was a really nice break from my more technical classes. When Prof Stepanic teaches, it's almost like listening to an interesting podcast, which makes the time fly a lot faster. The class is structured in a way where if you put in effort, you should get an A. I learned a lot of little things here and there that I hadn't known before and found all the content interesting for the most part, except for the more early history centered content. Prof Stepanic is strict when it comes to using tech during his lectures if you're not taking notes, as he mentions dropping your grade by a letter if you're caught, but I think since the class is so straightforward, easy, and interesting, it's not too much to ask to pay attention for the time being in class. #tCFS24

This class was fun! A little overhyped but wasn't bad at all. Didn't have that much work other than a couple of assignments from TopHat each week and two analyses, which we went over the answers during class. The only negative thing I'd say is that the content was pretty boring up until the last few weeks of the semester. Professor Stepanic was a pretty entertaining lecturer though, so that made it a little bit more interesting. We mainly focused on history for most of the semester, but the class itself was not difficult by any means. I also hated using TopHat. I had so many issues with it throughout lectures and would frequently miss at least one question in almost every class due to connectivity issues or the software itself. That could just be a me problem, but it was really frustrating and bothersome. Other than that, it's a great elective to take. #tCFF23

Easiest class I've taken at UVA and second best, it deserves the hype. Stepanic is chaotic/hilarious, good at responding to emails, lenient with grades and other stuff, and also emphasizes the importance of mental health. There are in-class question you answer through TopHat (he usually tells you the answers), homework questions in the online textbook (v easy questions, just takes like 30-60 mins per chapter), and two analyses, which are basically a list of questions that you answer about a piece of vampire media. Lectures were entertaining (I was never bored) and we learned a lot of cool stuff about the origins of vampires in Slavic folklore and how they turned into what we see on TV today. Take this class!!! #tCFfall22

This class is great! The lectures are weird and interesting, and Professor Stepanic is super funny and a knowledgable person. The only downside is that attendance is mandatory (counted through Top Hat), and there are readings that come with homework questions for credit each week. The class is worth going to though and the homework is not difficult, just feels like a little bit of busy work.

Ok this class deserves a more recent review. This class currently consists of homework reading and questions after every lecture (and yes you have to do them and no they aren't released before class its annoying) and then 2 "analyses". we haven't had the final one yet but the first one was super easy. Whoever said this class should be called history of vampires is correct, starts off with like slavic folklore and all that jazz and only gets into like pop culture vampire in late october, november. Is it easy? Yea, 98% of people in the room are doing other stuff on their laptops including cross word puzzles. Is it interesting? I don't think it's as interesting as the hype says. Like he's kind of a weird dude so that's interesting but sometimes I'm genuinely like what...is happening. One class we went from Count Chocula cereal to lesbian vampire p*rn to the count from sesame street

Of course you have to take Dracula!! Stepanic is really passionate and interesting- and a little strange at times but that made class fun. You have interactive readings due weekly, and a really easy open-book take home midterm and final. It really is the best and easiest class you'll take at UVA and you'll appreciate the mental break.

Stepanic is an incredibly passionate and well-read professor. He knows so much about this subject its insane. He is also incredibly understanding and will open up assignments for you if you miss a deadline. However, the class itself is slightly overrated. It should be "History of Vampires" rather than Dracula, as the subject of Dracula itself is maybe two weeks of the entire course. A lot of the subject matter drags and can be boring very easily.

In short, this is the first J-Term class I ever took because UVA gave students the opportunity to take a J-term course for free. This is by far the EASIEST COLLEGE COURSE I HAVE EVER TAKEN. The irony: I struggle with humanities-related classes and I am a biology major. This is a class that I put at the top of the podium that every student across the board must take before they graduate, regardless of what point in the school year. I would call this class an EASY A+, not an easy A. Your grade is based on a point total. Most of the points you get are from textbook reading after class. Professor Stepanic wrote the textbook himself and the questions are built into it. The class covers roughly 3-4 lectures per day during J-Term. There are participation questions that count towards your point total. There are also several projects that count towards it. Your final grade is your total number of points gained divided by the total points possible. During normal times, this class has field trips. The class has been greatly simplified once it moved online, which made it EVEN EASIER than what it was before COVID. The textbook questions are honestly very straightforward and the projects are very easy. No exams during J-Term. This course is a definite MUST-TAKE.

There's a reason why this is one of the most popular, if not THE most popular, classes at uva. Dracula is really one of a kind, and out of the 4 years I've been here, this one is the best one to me, hands down. Lectures were engaging and interesting with lots of great stories from the professor, the professor himself is a such a cool dude and is very caring, and even the textbook was enjoyable to read with lots of different outside sources. Workload-wise, jterm dracula is a little different than the semester or even summer session ones since we only have two weeks to cram in all of the content. Having said that, I 100% recommend doing it over jterm since the only work you have to do for the class are top hat questions during lecture, homework assignments that come straight from the book, and 3 small, very easy projects. The only reason why I gave such a high reading score is because we covered multiple chapters a day, which translated to about 2 hours of homework a night for me. Aside from that, having no essays or exams were definitely a big plus for me. We do have a "final" though that's just one big game of the class roleplaying as vampires haha. Overall, if there was one word I could use to describe this class, it would be pure, unadulterated FUN. Professor Stepanic is an absolute legend for making the class what it is, you won't regret taking it!

I will always be grateful for that A+ that I got from this class, because you don't get too many of those in college (or maybe you do, that's fine, forget this). This is an easy class, but I did get that grade by going to every class for Top Hat participation points and doing the (very easy) homework and exams somewhat carefully (which is obviously far from sufficient to get you a A+ for most classes). There are also plenty of classes out here where the instructor hopefully knows that people are just taking his/her class to satisfy certain graduation requirements and mastery of course material is not super important for their careers and lives so it's really ideal if he/she just grades somewhat leniently and everyone just part ways peacefully... and still decides to make life extra hard for the students. It makes you really grateful for a class like Dracula where the instructors knows better than that, so that you can actually have fun with the class.
Also I should note that Prof. Stepanic has a style of humor that most people seem to appreciate most of the time, but possibly not everyone and not all the time. I personally mind very little what joke or anecdote he decides to throw in, but there were definitely points in time where the class collectively decides to have 0 reaction either because something's taken slightly too far or because it's many weeks into the semester and it's now became clear that it's safe to sleep through parts of the class... I would say go to his classes before the Add/Drop deadline and if something about his style has unfortunately hit you right in some of your pet peeves, then don't persist through the entire semester because it's not gonna get better. But then overall Dracula is supposed to be some kind of a fun class and not too much more, unless you study vampires. I went to Stepanic's other class on Russian films once (did not keep going because schedule conflicts) and thought it was brilliant; perhaps not less fun but a lot more information and substance.

This is such an easy class and there is a reason it is on many of the must-takes at UVA before you gradate. Stanley is a funny and interesting man, and he definitely is an expert on all things Slavic history and vampires. Online midterm and final which were easy to use process of elimination even if you didn't know the material. He uses Tophat for the participation and correctness points (like clicker points but virtually) but he maxes them out at the end so even if you missed a decent amount, you could still get most of the points or all. Very funny class 10/10. #tCF2020

Taking this class online was the best choice i've ever made. The class normally has 2 essays you have to write, but because of online learning, he decided to get rid of the 2 essays and just do tophat questions. Stanley is great, his lectures are legit like watching a twitch streamer, and you do not have to take notes at all. I initially started to but realized I didn't need to. The midterm and final are open note, open google, open friend, and you have A MONTH to take it. You can just log in and answer a few questions at a time, really easy. My only recommendation is to REALLY do the homework and focus on getting the answers correct, because thats what makes up a majority of your grade. Take your time and read through it. This class was awesome, could not recommend more. #tCFfall20! #tCFfall20

Step is such a sweet man and this class really was worthwhile. I was nervous taking this class through Zoom University, but his lectures felt more like watching a gamer or someone livestream. Some of the topics were very boring or dense; however, it was never difficult. I was never too interested in the historical aspects of the class, but I really did enjoy the stories about Step's life. His stories and experiences are definitely the best part of the class IMO. I really appreciated this class because Step was always flexible with deadlines, questions, or lectures. If you ever missed class due to internet connections or had timezone issues, Step would reset the questions and allow you to take them. Everyone in this class has a chance to get a 100. All the questions/lecture comprehension checks and homework questions were on TopHat. If TopHat ever had a glitch or issue, Step would take care of it and make sure you got the grade you deserve. Even though I took this class over the summer, I'd spend about 30 minutes after class and would get all of the chapters/questions done. It really isn't a time consuming class. This class really isn't meant to evaluate you or compare you to your peers, but to give you a chance to just sit down and experience something. I'd recommend anyone take this class!!

Stanley is an eclectic, entertaining professor who does a good job taking a potentially boring material and elevating it. He'll often go off on tangents but they're actually really entertaining in a shocking way. I took it over the summer so I'm not sure how much it changes during the semester but if you stay on track with the work, it's an easy A. He's a great professor and knows how to interact with his students really well. He actually values his student's thoughts and prides himself on communication. He will respond to emails super quickly. Really good way to fulfill a requirement or in my case, just to get an easy A.

Fun fact- I only read about this course after seeing it on Lou's List for signing up for the summer session (for reference- I'm a rising third year).

Guys, I cannot possibly recommend this class enough. First of all, it's ridiculously easy. Can't speak for the fall and spring semesters, but I stopped taking notes on the second day, and just enjoyed what was going on. The readings are super easy and take, maybe, 45 minutes each. No tests, no papers, no quizzes (though the readings do have interactive questions you need to answer, but are super easy). Second of all, the content is interesting! Thinking about how Dracula and vampires are presented in tv shows, movies, books, animes, comics, videogames, and how they relate to EVERYTHING. Like, who knew you could have discussions on racial relations and mental health policy by talking about vampires? You do now! Third of all, Stepanic is the man. I once had a professor take three weeks to respond to an email. Stepanic responded to all three of mine within an average of three minutes. As someone who has had some recent mental health struggles too, it was so nice to see him listen to what I had to say and things I could do cope.

Overall, this is the best class offered at UVA and I wish from the bottom of my soul that there were both more classes like it and more professors like Stepanic.

PS- if you are thinking "Ugh am I going to have to read the novel?" Spoiler alert- he hates the book, and gives you a summary of it in lecture, so don't even trip.

Just take the class it is that simple. Easy A and fun material what else do you need.

Easy A class. Just go to class for the participation points and you're set. Midterm and final were open note. Besides that, Prof. Stepanic is honestly one of the best professors I've had at uva. He's super approachable and adds little anecdotes throughout the lectures about his family or life which were really cute. Sometimes the material was boring since we had to go over some European history but that was it. Would def recommend this class if you can get in!!

It's an easy class and Professor Stepanic has an interesting life. He gets off topic a lot but it is so fun to listen to him. Sometimes, the class fills up way too much so you have to get there early for a seat.

There's a reason this class is posted about on every "Top courses for UVA students" website. It. is. awesome. Not only is Professor Stepanic one of the coolest instructors I've had at UVA, the material is super interesting, and the grading is EASY. For J-Term specifically, we covered one to two lectures per day and had to read and answer textbook problems in TopHat for each (since Step wrote the book, it's exactly like his lectures. The only reason my time commitment is listed so high is because J-Term is intensive). Also for J-Term and Summer Sessions, we didn't have any exams. Instead we had three smaller projects: touring the UVA Chapel, UVA cemetery, and a day of guest lecturing. The final was a vampire LARPing game in the Rotunda too! I highly recommend you take Dracula during your time on Grounds!

Such a fun class! The professor loves what he is teaching so each class is super interesting and engaging. Not too much work and you will get a grade as long as you go to class. Class attendance is 100% a must though to get a good grade.

Would definitely this class solely on the entertainment factor. Professor is funny (odd dude but really feels like it's his job to entertain students which I appreciate) and does a decent job of keeping students engaged. The online textbook/homework is very easy and you definitely learn some new things. The tests are super easy if you take your time and check over all your answers. Cons are that the lecture is usually super repetitive of the reading (if you do the reading first), or vice versa, so it can get a little boring at times. Otherwise, def recommend.

I highly recommend this class! Professor Stepanic was very comical, relatable, easy going, and understanding. The class no longer counts as a 2nd writing requirement for J-term but it still counts as a nonwestern perspective. We took field trips to the Poe Museum and local trips to the cemetery on grounds. The creator of Vamprinia and an actor that played Dracula came and spoke with us. Our "final exam" was a LARP vampire game that was really fun. The textbook was incorporated through TopHat. TopHat is were most of your grades come from. Attendance, class discussion questions, participation, and correctness points, and HW assignments are all on TopHat. Since J-term is shorter, we covered about 3 lectures a day and he would release the chapters on TopHat after class. The chapter readings and chapter questions took me from anywhere between 30mins- 90mins each night. Overall, THIS IS THE BEST CLASS I HAVE EVER TAKEN AT UVA!

TAKE THIS COURSE! Professor Stepanic is very knowledgeable about Dracula and vampires, and it really shows in his lectures and textbook. He uses Top Hat now which makes homework interactive and more enjoyable. This is a good class to fulfill requirements, but also for a break in your schedule.

This is literally the easiest class I've ever taken at UVA. The only thing that kinda sucks is that attendance is mandatory, but lectures are pretty interesting and you usually just watch a bunch of videos (especially in the second half of the course). I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who can get into it. Easiest and lowest effort class and it's actually kind of fun. Stepanic also gives a lot of opportunity for extra credit!

Professor Stepanic is super approachable and he makes this class fairly interesting (even to those who aren't necessarily super into vampires). You actually learn a lot of nifty stuff through relations to the vampire. Top Hat makes the class involve nearly no writing (it isn't a SWR class anymore) and though you do have to buy the book through Top Hat to do homework, you don't really need to actually read it provided you go to lecture. Very easy A; if you're looking for something to round out gen ed, it doesn't get any better than this.

Unless you are like super in to Vampires or something, the content of this course is phenomenally boring. It's an easy A, but take it with friends so you have something to do during lecture.

Not much can be said about Dracula that hasn't already been said. Take this class! It's really easy, which is great, but it is also extremely fascinating and a lot of fun to be a part of. It's super unique to UVA and sort of a rite of passage. Stepanic is really entertaining but he also has a lot of valuable and scholarly things to say.

I will not lie this was by far the best course I have taken at UVA ever. Professor Stepanic is the best professor, he manages to make the entire course very fun from start to finish and since the class began using TopHat, which is online, the course is very easy with open note and book tests

Highly recommended class! The material is very interesting and the professor is engaging. There are one paper and two exams. To get an A, go to every class and take as many notes as possible. The best class and teacher ever!

Professor Stepanic is by far one of the best professors I have taken at this university. He wants his students to do well and will push you to think in other ways. The midterm and final are fairly easy. You are given a list of terms and are told to choose 10 and you write 5 facts about each. You do have a paper to write and if you go to him and the grader to have it looked over you'll have no work for the final draft of it. All in all, minimal work for one of the best classes I have ever taken. You learn so much and I know some of the facts I have learned will be great starters at dinner functions. I know its known as one of the easier classes at UVA, but honestly, you should be taking it for the topic and Stepanic himself. He will be one of the most memorable professors you ever have. He stands out with his passion for his coursework.

A VERY manageable course. In terms of grading, there is a midterm and a final, both are structured the same: there are 20 terms total, you pick 10 to answer with at least five details for each term (one point for each detail), short answer format. There is a 10-page rough draft due a little before the midpoint of the semester, which you resubmit as a 10-page final draft to complete the second writing requirement. Professor Stepanic is picky about grammatical details, which is fair because he has to be. He supplies close to 15 prompts to choose from, though you can decide to write about something other than his suggested prompts as long as he approves ahead of time. In terms of the content of the course, you begin with Slavic history, mythology, & folklore and progress to discussing about the development of the vampire image in media/culture. Unfortunately, I didn't share the same kind of humor with the professor (and apparently the majority of the class); I also didn't always appreciate the way he, at times, yelled to get his point across. He's pretty avid to share his personal views which, though excessive, was fine. Personally, by the end of the course, I realized that I only found the first quarter of the course somewhat interesting and didn't care much for everything else that we learned about. Just choose a prompt that interests you and the paper is honestly a breeze. As long as you show up to class and take decent notes that make sense when you look back over them, things will work out (I ended the class with a 99.5).

Would definitely recommend this class!!! Dracula during J-term was a nice way to get the second writing requirement out of the way. The format was similar to during the semester with the midterm, final, rough draft, and final draft. The midterm and final were very fair and based off the lectures, just 10 identifications out of 20 that are simple. The only tough thing about the class is writing a solid rough draft, since it is worth 15% of the final grade. Take time to spend a decent amount of time on it. Besides that, Dracula is a chill class and I'm glad to have taken it over j-term. Stepanic is a really cool instructor.

This was probably my favorite class this semester, even if it is not necessarily difficult in terms of material. Professor Stepanic knows what he is talking about and makes every lecture enthralling and engaging, making it worth going to class every time just to hear him speak, if anything. That is, of course, outside of the fact that you need to take notes from lecture to be able to study for the midterm and the final, both of which are fairly straightforward if you paid a bit of attention during the lectures. The harder part is writing the papers, but if you do what he tells you to and just write a page a week on the rough draft, you can turn in a rather high-quality rough draft which will not only please you in terms of the grade it will give you, but also the lack of work you'll have to do for the final draft of the paper. Overall, a very enjoyable and straightforward class that I would wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, especially since it fulfills two A&S requirements in one fell swoop. There isn't much work, but don't take the course for granted, lest you be the one person who bears the burden of having failed Dracula.

This class is probably the most simple and fun way to get a requirement done at UVA. Stepanic is very clear with what you have to do to get an A in this class, and besides the paper there's really no work besides studying for the exams. Fair warning: I'm pretty sure Stepanic changed the grading system for the class this semester--he used to not count the rough draft of the paper for anything but it now counts for 15% of the grade, so not sure how grades will compare with the distribution now. Just write the rough draft as if its the final and pay attention to all of his tips on the syllabus to get as high a grade as possible. Stepanic is a pretty funny and interesting guy, his long and often dramatic tangents can leave you really lost but he always has a way of somehow relating it back to whatever we're learning. As long as you take good notes on the important stuff, you're set for exams and can enjoy all of the other cool aspects of the class.

I may be biased because the best grades I've ever received at UVA were mostly from this class, but I highly recommend it. I should note that the format was a bit different from Fall/Spring though, because it was a summer class and it was also the first time he made readings optional.
I went to class, took (pretty good) notes, asked questions, slept through most of the movie showings, opted 'nope' for the readings, wrote the papers the night before, studied about 1-2 hours for the final and finished the class with an A+.
The class itself was just him talking for about two hours, and, if I remember correctly, he usually skipped the break most professors take during summer courses so he could get through the material ASAP. This wasn't a bad thing, though. The material and (probably more importantly) the way he delivers it is interesting. He does go off on tangents, but he digresses and/or relates it to the topic at hand pretty well. The anecdotes help to remember certain points in the lecture too.
One thing to be aware of is that while Dracula is a focal point, it's not THE point of the class; don't take it if you want an in-depth analysis of JUST Dracula. You get lots of Slavic history (as expected for a class in the SLAV department), some Slavic mythology (rusalkas, Baba Yga, etc), a decent look into horror movies in the U.S. and how they evolved through the 20th ce., a peek into the dichotomy of the vampire through gender in comics as well as film, and an interesting chunk of time spent studying 'real vampires'/serial killers/how the myth has evolved in present day, along with the expected study of the original book and the Dracula films (though more the films than the book, praise be).
The tests, as mentioned by other reviewers, are super easy. Just IDs and a few essays. No biggie.
Unless you have a fervent hatred for history and/or film and/or Slavic lore and/or taking notes (????????), this class is an awesome way to get requirements out of the way and take an interesting course you don't lose hair/sleep over (e.g. Orgo, chem, etc). :)

tl;dr TAKE IT.

This class was one of my favorite of the semester because Stepanic is an incredible speaker and the material is genuinely fascinating. Grades are from a midterm in which you pick 10 out of 20 ID's, a non-cummulative final of the same format, and a 10 page paper that he grades harshly for your draft, but gives you a 100 for if you correct everything on the revision. I'm not sure how that adds up to a second writing requirement but I'm not complaining. I went to all but one class, studied for maybe 5 hours total for the midterm and final and will get an easy, but very worthwhile A from this course.

This is one of the most popular courses at UVA, and for good reason. The material is very interesting, and Professor Stepanic is an engaging speaker. I probably learned more in this class than any of my other ones, and it was actually fun. The grade came from a midterm, final, and paper; there are "recommended" readings, but the material on the final is all from lecture so you don't need to do any of the reading. This is a second writing requirement course, so what he did this semester was assign a 10 page paper, and then a revised version of that paper to count for a total 20 pages, but he seems to change this semester to semester. I would HIGHLY recommend this course overall.

Very interesting and pretty easy. You end up writing a total of 20 pages since the course fulfills the second writing requirement. The lecture is pretty important to attend in order to know shit that's going to be on the test. Stephanic is a good orator so the course is not very boring.

This was a great class. Definitely worth taking especially if you need a second writing requirement. 3 papers a midterm and final which are really easy. For the exams you don't have to do any readings because all of it comes from lectures (so take good notes). It's really easy to follow in lecture because Stepanic is an entertaining prof. For the papers make sure you start them in advance and use the readings. He is big on facts and sources. Also, do not use "I" at all. NOT EVEN ONCE!!!! Then you will get a good grade.

This is a class that you do not want to miss! All the lectures are interesting and Stepanic is a fun professor who is really knowledgeable on the subject. It's easy to get a B if you don't try, easy to get an A if you attend all lectures and start papers early (something I didn't do). Also, if you can, try to get Stepanic to grade your paper because the SLAV grad student TAs grade hard!

I took this during J-term. It was probably the best class I've ever. SHOW UP TO EVERY CLASS. It's so interesting!!! You won't regret taking it. I only write 10 hours for reading because it's J-term and you really only have to do 10 pages of writing for your 2nd writing requirement.

This is a really interesting class and easy class. Stepanic makes it really funny. Sort of overkill on the Dracula in pop culture and a huge amount of movies to work through, I preferred the pre-midterm about the vampire scare and witch craze. For the papers make sure you write them from the readings or other books you find in the library NOT by using the lecture otherwise you will be harshly penalized. TA grading in general seems a bit arbitrary so if you have a choice give your paper to Stepanic's pile.

Super fun class that fulfills both second writing requirement and non-western. 4 papers, a midterm and final. It's an easy A if you attend lectures, but they're so interesting you want to go.

This class is so fun! I would definitely recommend it to anyone, especially to fulfill the second writing requirement. The class is very interesting because it moves from talking about the vampire in Slavic folklore (which is more history oriented) and then moves into modern perceptions of the vampire (which is media related-- aka you will watch a lot of movies). Prof Stepanic does a great job of keeping the class moving and interesting, and it never feels like an hour and 15 minute class. The only negative that I could foresee is that he is somewhat opinionated, but this is more entertaining than detrimental. Definitely take this class if you can!

Great class that fulfills your 2nd writing requirement pretty easily