Schedule
This course schedule provides all the key information for your daily work in the course. Please bookmark it and refer to it for each assignment. Please do not rely on a print version of this page, as I regularly update and change it. Be sure to refer to this page to see what your assignment is.
Jump to today
This course meets daily from 10am - 12pm. We also have required screenings each day. While we might not use the full alotted time every day, we will do so most of the time. Plan to be present for the class and the following screening. I start class on time, so be there right at 10:00—missing twenty minutes at the beginning will make the business of the course difficult to conduct.
Abbreviations:
UP - Greene and Mohammad, The Undead and Philosophy
WWZ - Brooks, World War Z
OASIS - Handouts available for download from OASIS
Week 1: History of Zombies in Popular Media
Week one focuses on the emergence of the most popular medium of
zombie texts--the zombie film. We view three early zombie films and
consider how early cinema history and popular imagination about the
zombie figure in voodoo led to the zombie as it appears in its current
guises.
M 7 Jan: Introduction, Syllabus review
Discussion: previous knowledge
Syllabus overview
Hand out presentation assignment. Sign up for presentations. Zombie game!
Get to know you game; Get to know Brendan.
Screening: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
- OASIS, Phillips, "Night of the Living Dead"
Select your three top choices for zombie texts to present on. Bring them to class.
Also recommended: Start WWZ, up to "Warnings:Amazon Rain forest" (p21)
T 8 Jan: Rise of horror film
Quiz: Night of the Living Dead
The rise of the horror film
Discussion: Night of the Living Dead
Discussion: Phillips
Screening: White Zombie (1937); I Walked With a Zombie (1943)
- OASIS, Deren, Divine Horsemen (through page 20!).
- OASIS, Seabrook, Chapter 2, The Magic Island.
Also recommended: WWZ, up to start of "Blame" (p44)
W 9 Jan: Haitian Voodoo zombie
Screening: Divine Horsemen (1961) - clips
Mini-lecture: Hollywood and Voodoo
Discussion: Deren & Seabrook
Rituals on screen
Discussion: I Walked with a Zombie and White Zombie
How do Haitian voudou zombies relate to other zombies we’ve seen?
Screening: Carnival of Souls (1962)
- OASIS, Walz, "Mary Henry's Journey"
- OASIS, Bishop, "Raising the dead,"
Also recommended: WWZ up to "The Great Panic" (p67)
R 10 Jan: Aesthetics of Horror film
Clips: The Hills Have Eyes The Last Man on Earth
Discussion: Carnival of Souls
Discussion: Walz & Bishop
How do the aesthetics of horror film shape the zombie?
How do I Walked and Carnival influence Night
Screening: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
- UP, "(Un)dead (Un)certainties"
- UP, Jacquette, "Zombie Gladiators"
Email Brendan from your preferred address.
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "The Great Panic: Ice City, Greenland" (p89)
F 11 Jan:
Mini-lecture: Philosophical zombies
Discussion: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Discussion: Jacquette
How do we define a zombie film? What makes someone/something a zombie?
Screening: Dawn of the Dead (1978)
- OASIS, Gardner, "Literary Criticism and Literary Theory"
- OASIS, Horne, "I shopped with a zombie,"
- OASIS, Harper, "Zombies, Malls, and the Consumerism debate."
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Turning the Tide" (p105)
Week 2: Reading Zombies Critically
Week two explores the critical practice of “hermeneutics,” or
interpretation. We will engage with a variety of critical texts to
begin unlocking the cultural and textual influences that make zombie
films frightening. In addition to the films we’ve watched thus far,
we will also have presentations from classmates for their outside text
project.
- OASIS, Gardner, "Literary Criticism and Literary Theory"
- OASIS, Horne, "I shopped with a zombie,"
- OASIS, Harper, "Zombies, Malls, and the Consumerism debate."
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Turning the Tide" (p105)
M 14 Jan: Capitalism and zombies
Presentations: Katie L & Gaylen B
Lecture: Theory and Hermeneutics
Discussion: Dawn of the Dead
Discussion: Horne and Harper
Clips: Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Final Project assigned, discussed
Screening: Zombi 2 (1979)
- OASIS, Sheller, "Eating others"
- OASIS, Davis, "The Serpent and the Rainbow"
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Turning the Tide: Sand Lakes Provincial..." (p121)
T 15 Jan: Colonialism and zombies
Presentations: Nicole - Meth commercials; Kumba - Zombie Tales comics; Mary - The Walking Dead vols 1&2
Clips and Discussion: Serpent and the Rainbow
Discussion: Zombi 2
Discussion: Sheller, Davis, Seabrook, Romero
Will discuss Brooks, "Warnings"
Screening: Zombie Honeymoon (2004)
- UP, Larkin, "Res Corporalis"
- UP, Walker, "When There's No More Room in Hell"
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Turning the Tide: Burlington, Vermont" (p146)
W 16 Jan: Zombie Identity
Presentations: Natalie - The Zen of Zombie; Mark - Cell
Discuss Zombie Honeymoon
Discuss Larkin and Walker
Vote on final film
Discuss Final Projects
Screening: Dead Alive (also called Braindead) (1992)
- OASIS, Creed, "Horror and the Monstrous Feminine"
- UP, Thompson, "She's Not Your Mother Anymore"
Finish Final Project Proposal
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Turning the Tide: Parnell Air National..." (p168)
R 17 Jan: The Abject and Gender relations
Discussion: Dead Alive
Discussion: Creed and Thompson
Final project proposal due
Presentations:
Screening: Day of the Dead (1985)
- UP, Murray, "When they aren't eating us"
- From O: Sontag, "AIDS and its Metaphors"
Also recommended: WWZ, up to "Around the World And Above" (p187)
F 18 Jan: Understanding Society & Science
Discuss Day of the Dead and Murray
CLIPS: 28 Days Later
Discuss Sontag
Discuss final project proposals
Will discuss Brooks, "Blame" & "The Great Panic"
Presentations:
Screening: Return of the Living Dead (1985)
- OASIS, Carroll, "Humor and Horror"
- WWZ, finish the novel
Peer discussion materials due
Week 3: Revisionist Zombies
In week three, the course moves into conversations about the zombie
genre as genre. We explore the ways in which recent films and other
media are created in the shadow of previous zombie texts, and how they
use and abuse those tropes. We will also select a zombie film for the
class to watch which we will explore on the last day of class.
Finally, week three also includes some time to peer-workshop our final
projects, particularly our artists’ statements.
M 21 Jan:
No class: MLKJr Day.
- OASIS, Carroll, "Humor and Horror"
- WWZ, finish the novel
- OASIS, Kenemore, The Zen of Zombie (short selection)
Also post Extra credit analysis if you're doing one.
Peer discussion materials due
T 22 Jan: Revisionism & Humor
Guest speaker: Scott Kenemore, author of The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead
Clips: Shaun of the Dead & mini-lecture: the evolution of genre
Discussion: Movies we watched
Discuss Carroll
Discuss Brooks
Presentations:Jake C - Jesus Hates Zombies and Marvel Zombies; Mallarie P - Zombie Survival Guide; James S - Resident Evil (game); Scott B - Resident Evil & RE Apocalypse; Justin G - House of the Dead 1&2
Screening: Cemetery Man (also called Dellamorte Dellamore) (1994)
- Zombie Comics
- From UP: Clar, "The Undead Martyr"
Post response on OASIS
Bring copies of artist's statement for final project and final project in progress
or Rough Draft of critical essay
W 23 Jan: Tropes and stereotypes
Short film: What to do in a Zombie attack
Presentations: Steve B - Phantasm 2/ Dead Next Door; Janina - Monster Nation; Joe P - Japanese zombie movies
Discussion: Cemetery Man
Discussion: Guins
Discuss Brooks
Clip: Dawn of the Dead, 2004
Peer review of final projects
Screening: Fido
R 24 Jan: Humor and Horror
Presentations: Samantha A - Plan 9 and Night of the Ghouls; Roger L - Deadlands
Project presentations
Discuss: class choice, readings, tropes, history, etc
Course wrap up
No Screening
F 19 Jan
No class.
