(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — David Del Bar is a seventh year doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago — and an expert on werewolves.
He teaches a class called, “The Werewolf in Literature and Film.”
“This class is designed to look at a lot of different ways that people have used the werewolf story in history,” he said. “So we start all the way back with the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh,’ 4,000 years ago, and we end with some films that came out in the last few years.”
Throughout the course, Del Bar said students dig into how various moments in history and different social movements affected the way stories were told about werewolves or similar creatures.
Students, he added, sink their teeth into the exploration of the boundaries between animals and humans.
“The students I have are brilliant,” said Del Bar. “They come prepared to discuss the hard questions underneath the werewolf stories about our society, philosophical questions about what that means to be human, animal or somewhere in between.”
The assignments of the class include watching classic werewolf movies, and as for Del Bar’s favorites:
“I do love ‘American Werewolf in London,’” he said. “It sort of set the bar for modern werewolf stories from the ’80s onward, though I have to say I am a little partial to the classic ‘Wolfman’ from 1941.”
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok