Almost immediately after its debut in 2010, AMC’s The Walking Dead became a sensation, both in America and around the globe. By its third season, it was attracting more 18- to 49-year-old viewers than any other television show in history. The Walking Dead has maintained this high-level of popular appeal across virtually all demographics. In this course, simply put, we will ask why. What is it about this particular dystopic vision of a zombie apocalypse that resonates so deeply with Americans? What anxieties does it reveal about contemporary society? How does it reflect American values, including those that have endured and those that are evolving? What does it have to say about religion and politics? These are just a few lenses through which we will examine this series. To explore these questions, we will watch and discuss eight seasons of The Walking Dead, but we will begin by reading other examples of post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction. We will also read relevant criticism, both on The Walking Dead itself and about post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction literature generally.
Semester Offered
Fall