Name: Stanley Stepanic
Department: Slavic (UVA, Arts & Sciences)
Hometown: Latrobe, PA
PSA: This is a Campus Celebrity article that you won’t want to miss! This week we are breaking away from our weekly routine of interview students and going straight to the faculty! Have you ever heard of a class based on Dracula? Well, if you haven’t it is ranked as one of the “Top 10 Must Take Classes At UVA”. Get to know the teacher who basically built the class into what it is today, his advice to college students, and much more in this week’s Campus Celebrity article featuring Professor Stanley Stepanic.
How long have you been teaching at UVA?
I’ve been teaching at UVA now for about 10 years. First as a TA, and then starting around 2007 I began teaching Dracula.
What classes do you teach?
I’ve taught a number of courses including Second-Year Russian, a course called Decadence in Art and Literature, and, of course, Dracula.
What inspired you to teach a class on Dracula?
I actually was a TA for the course originally when I first started work on my MA and PhD. The original professor was Dr. Perkowski, who taught it for a number of years before I arrived. After he retired the department wanted to keep the course going, so I agreed to do it and completely altered almost everything from the readings to the lectures. It’s entirely different than it was back then, all essentially my own creation at this point. I grew up with an interest in the occult, ghost stories, Gothic literature, and generally things of the ‘weird’, so to speak. Lots of B-movies, underground music, and so forth. The vampire was just one part of the many things in which I had interest.
Best advice you could give college students?
First, take your studies seriously. Always remember there’s someone, maybe even yourself, paying a lot of money for you to be where you are, and you should feel obligated to honor that and achieve as much as you can. Second, be diverse. Don’t be afraid to branch out and learn new things, things that you may even be hesitant to learn about or experience. The most successful people, I’ve often found, are those with the most diverse backgrounds.
What is your favorite part about being a Wahoo?
UVA has always been an excellent school in so many areas. I’ve found my interactions with students to usually be quite rewarding, and the school has done a great deal for my family and me. It’s a great career, and I enjoy it.
What is something people don’t know about you?
I have a number of hobbies, one of which is collecting and playing old school video games. I won second place in a large Atari 2600 competition a few years ago. My high scores conquer. Few can survive.
Rapid Fire Questions
Favorite color? Gray.
Favorite show? VEEP
Last song you listened too? “The Depths” from the album Flesh Assimilation by Zom.
Hidden talent? I “sing” or rather scream and moan agony for a doom metal band called Beldam.
Vanilla or Chocolate? Neither, I don’t eat sweets! Sugar is corrupt, unless in a fruit.
Favorite food? Chicken.
Favorite movie? Love Me Deadly
Favorite place on grounds? Hmm, tough one, I’d have to say The Lawn or the UVA Cemetery.