Europe

The Origins of the Vampire
Stories of blood-drinking demons can be found all over the world, but the vampire legend that was the source of Dracula, Nosferatu, and the vampires in True Blood originated primarily in 17th and 18th century eastern Europe-Hungary, Poland, and yes, Romania. Why and how did the creatures from the first "vampire panic" originate and how did they differ from our modern perceptions of the vampire? This lecture examines the possibility that the vampire legend in southeastern Europe arose from the physiological changes undergone by a dead body as it decomposes, and traces the anthropological roots of the legend in later centuries. Elizabeth Hamilton

Heritage and Identity in Ireland: Landscape that Links the Present with the Past
For more than five thousand years people have lived and worshipped in the valley of Glencolumbkille, in County Donegal.  Twenty-first century pilgrims wend their way through village streets and past modern farms to halt at ancient monuments that now are sacred to Saint Colmcille (also known as Saint Columba).  This talk will show how the dynamic landscape of Glencolumbkille and the continuing use of the pilgrimage site keeps the traditional legends alive and nourishes the collective memory of the local residents.
 Dori Panzer

The Everyday Life of Medieval Peasants
Our knowledge of the Middle Ages is conditioned by the surviving evidence. Archaeology highlights rich tombs, pretty jewelry, and exotica; art history, cathedrals and castles. The extant medieval manuscripts and their contents reflect the lives of those wealthy enough to afford them. But from excavated medieval farms and villages, from mundane tax lists and charters, and from such novel documents as coroners' inquests and inquisition records, we have considerable insight into rural medieval society: the birth, death, family and community relations, labor, and thoughts of the medieval peasant. Dr. William R. Fitts

The Ships of the Vikings
Buried and sunken Viking ships, carving and tapestries, the Norse sagas, modern Scandinavian boat-craftsmen, and sailing tests on Viking-ship replicas will be used to show the variety of types and uses of Viking ships and the extraordinary skill employed in building them. Dr. William R. Fitts