Talks on Tap

Professor Michelle D. Miranda, Ph.D.

Bloodlines: Vampires in Forensic Science 

Sink your teeth into the folklore of vampires and vampirism and their connection to forensic science. Explore the cult of the undead, the embrace of the exsanguination ritual, and the masquerade of mingling amongst the living.

Dr. Michelle Miranda, Director and Chair of the Center for Criminal Justice Studies at Farmingdale State College, will address the legend of the vampire as it developed through arts and literature to demonstrate the timeless, cross-cultural hold vampire lore has on the living. She will discuss the duality of the rational and irrational through the intersection of detective fiction and Gothic tales. Learn about real encounters of vampires and vampirism across the forensic science domain. From pathology and anthropology to odontology and psychiatry—vampirism has embraced them all and continues to do so today.

Dr. Miranda holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, Forensic Science Concentration, from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and an M.S. in Forensic Science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). Prior to entering academia, she worked as a Criminalist in the Trace Evidence Analysis Unit of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) Police Lab, and as both a Medical Photographer and a Death Investigator. Dr. Miranda is the author of the book Forensic Analysis of Tattoos and Tattoo Inks (CRC Press, 2012).