Abstract: “Self-Control, Self-Reflection, and Self-Surveillance: Louis, and the Inception of the Modern Sympathetic Vampire,” engages with the evolution of literary representations of the monstrous and societal fears. This essay topic was chosen as a way to meld together the disciplines of Cultural Studies and Sociology while addressing how literary figures like the vampire can act as a mirror to the social issues and struggles of a time-period. The modern vampire is much more human than its previous depictions, but it still exists in the periphery of society. The feelings of isolation and abjection that is attached to monsters is now an all too common feeling throughout youth populations. The modern sympathetic vampire can be understood as a representation of the types of internal struggles that many face in an attempt to fit into the greater societal apparatus. This essay was submitted as the final project in CULT 400: Topics in Popular Culture.
This essay was completed by Shea Coutts in the final year of her Bachelor of Arts degree, a Double Major in Sociology and Cultural Studies. Her research interests vary across disciplines and include, Postcolonial Studies, Mental Health Awareness, as well as Power, Identity and Representation —with an encompassing social justice framework.
