SLAV 2360

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 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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!

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

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.

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.