James B. South 
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy 
Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale

Twenty-three essays by young professional philosophers examine crucial ethical and metaphysical aspects of the Buffyverse (the world of Buffy). Though the show already attracted much scholarly attention, this is the first book to fully disinter the intellectual issues. Designed by Whedon as a multilevel story with most of its meanings deeply buried in heaps of heavy irony, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has replaced The X-Files as the show that explains to Americans the nature of the powerful forces of evil continually threatening to surge into our world of everyday decency and overwhelm it. In the tradition of the classic horror films Buffy the Vampire Slayer addresses ethical issues that have long fascinated audiences. This book draws out the ethical and metaphysical lessons from a pop-culture phenomenon.

About the author

James B. South is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.His primary research interests are in Renaissance Philosophy and Social and Political Philosophy, and he is contributor, and editorial board member for the online Buffy journal SLAYAGE.