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News:
- 21 Jan: Scott Kenemore will be speaking in class tomorrow. Please read the posted section of his book on OASIS.
- 18 Jan: Brendan is ill. No class. More information here.
About this Course
Introduction || Course Description || Learning Objectives || A Warning (or Challenge!)
Introduction
The dead walk the earth, devouring the living. The living cower, or fight back, or turn on one another, or get eaten. Zombies are here.
Why do zombies captivate us? Why do they terrify us? What does our fascination with the living dead tell us about our culture, our society, ourselves? In this course, you will embark on an intense, three week exploration of the history and theory behind one of the most macabre and terrifying tropes in modern horror.
Course Description
This course explores the history, significance, and representation of the zombie as a figure in horror and fantasy texts. We will pursue an intense schedule, using critical theory to think about zombies as they appear in literature, comics, and films. Our daily readings and discussion will focus on critical evaluation and reflection about the zombie trope, and your final project will ask you to integrate these ideas in a project within your discipline.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the zombie figure as it has appeared in literary, filmic, and comic texts (among others), from early incarnations in the first half of the 20th century to more recent revisionist texts.
- Improve comprehension and application of critical theory as it pertains to horror texts (such as hermeneutics, postmodern theory, media studies, and critical lenses such as feminism or psychoanalysis).
- Explore how the zombie figure relates, symbolically and critically, to modern culture. Depending on the texts explored, such themes might include capitalism, individuality, the information age, and xenophobia.
A Warning (or Challenge)
This course will be a rigorous experience. We will meet for 2 hours each morning and have a screening each day in the afternoon. You will have daily reading and response assignments, a presentation on an outside zombie text, and a final project in your own discipline (along with an artist's statement) to produce. While it will certainly be enjoyable, it will also be very rigorous.
