The Vampire in Slavic Cultures
Thomas Garza, Ed.D., University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, teaches courses on Russian language and literature, foreign language pedagogy, and contemporary Russian culture. His popular course, "The Vampire in Slavic Cultures," has been taught since 1997. He has been traveling to and researching in Russia since 1979 and has lived in Moscow for over six years. A native Texan, Dr. Garza received his doctorate in education from Harvard University in 1987 and during his eighteen-year tenure, he has received several prizes for undergraduate teaching, including the Texas Excellence Award, the President's Associates Award, the Harry Ransom Award, and in 2003 was inducted into the university-wide Academy of Distinguished Teachers. His current research projects examine the attitudes of Russian youth toward the Chechen war and conscription, and notions of masculinity and 'machismo' in Mexican and Russian film of the late '90s and 2000s.