THE RE-IMAGINED AVATAR OF THE CAMPUS NOVEL - ALEXANDRU MUŞINA'S NEPOTUL LUI DRACULA
THE RE-IMAGINED AVATAR OF THE CAMPUS NOVEL - ALEXANDRU MUŞINA'S NEPOTUL LUI DRACULA

Summary/Abstract: Alexandru Muşina attempts perhaps a rather ambitious project in creating a mélange of Gothic story, campus novel and post-communist criticism regarding the Communist sucking of the people’s blood. His reclaiming of the national myth of Dracula – imposed on Romania by Bram Stoker – is not to be discarded either as an avenue of interpretation. The most successful of approaches would investigate the novel as an avatar of campus fiction. While the novel is inscribed in this tradition, it also varies substantially in the way the professors are depicted and perceived. The dismissive attitude towards the merits of professors - perpetuated by society at large, the state and its institutions in particular - is opposed by the respect shown to teachers during the Communist regime, with the saying "the professor is king" as particularly salient. The post-communist situation encourages the creation of a corporate model for academia, following trends in research that would bring funds – with the proposed creation of a center for the study of vampires. In addition, the political nature of departments, the administrative duties and the conference circuit all make their dutiful appearance within the pages of the novel.

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