Buffy the Vampire Slayer consistently confronts ideologies of eros in the classroom. From Xander’s flirtations with Ms. Calendar and the demon substitute teacher who wanted to mate with him ("Teacher’s Pet), to the relationship between Wesley and Cordelia, to the bizarre, incestuous triangle between Professor Walsh, Riley, and Adam, to, of course, the ongoing, unspoken tension between Buffy and Giles, the series seems to view the classroom and the teaching/mentoring relationship as one that is a constant negotiation of power and desire. The series, in fact, brings sex directly into the classroom in the episode, "Hush," where Buffy dreams of Professor Walsh directing her to kiss Riley, then Walsh’s teaching assistant (and therefore Buffy’s teacher, too) in front of the class. This paper will discuss one of the most subversive elements of a television series that subverts popular and dominant cultures on so many levels: the acknowledgement of the force of eros and desire in the educational process.

Basing our paper on the work of bell hooks as well as recent pedagogical works like Barecca & Denenholz Morse’s (1997) The Erotics of Instruction, we will examine how the "student" and "teacher/mentor" characters on Buffy center their relationships around aspects of desire. Particularly focusing on the relationship between Buffy and Giles, we will demonstrate the inevitability of such erotic tension and the effects of that tension on education. As Elaine Marks (1993) puts it, "As I grow older...I am convinced that desire is the central force in teaching."

Of course, a paper like this demands a certain recognition of self-reflexivity, so we will confront this transgressive question: as teachers ourselves, how do we seek that desire in Buffy and how do we seek to extend that into our classrooms?

Audiovisual resources needed: VCR/monitor