Buffy The Vampire Slayer

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (U-WIRE) - David Lavery, an English professor at Middle Tennessee State University, exposed students to the phenomenon of the academic study of cult television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" at Monday’s pop culture honors lecture.

In his lecture, "’I wrote my thesis on you!: ’Buffy’ Studies as an Academic Cult," Lavery explored the emergence of a branch of television studies called Buffyology, or "Buffy" studies, as mentioned in the title.

Lavery himself is a "Buffy" scholar, and he and his colleague Rhonda Wilcox are two of the leaders in the study of all things in the so-called "Buffyverse."

"The Buffyverse refers to everything related to the world of ’Buffy’," Lavery explained.

The same kind of cult following "Buffy" draws from average TV viewers can also be found among those who study the show academically. A kind of "academic cult" has developed, according to Lavery.