Lisa Lampert-Weissig, LTWL 192 Spring 2016
Zombies: An Unnatural History                                       www.talesofthenight.org

1. Introduction

2. Origins of the Zombie

Elizabeth McAlister, “Slaves, Cannibals, and Infected Hyper-Whites: The Race and Religion of Zombies ,”Anthropological Quarterly, Volume 85, Number 2, Spring 2012, pp. 457-486 (you can link through journal title above; USCD connection required)

Thinksheet:  How, according to McAlister, is the figure of zombie related to issues of race?  You may pick one aspect of her analysis to explain.

3. Zombie plague

I am Legend, Matheson, 1954 (available at UCSD bookstore or any major bookseller) and Davis, “Echoes of Dracula: Racial Politics and the Failure of Segregated Spaces in Richard Matheson’s I am Legend,” Journal of Dracula Studies (2005).  Link


Thinksheet:  Do you agree with Davis that race is a central concern of the novel?   What other sorts of fears might be sources for its tensions?

4. NLD

George Romero, Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Kuhns,Birth of the Living Dead (2013)

Night of the Living Dead is on reserve at Geisel Library for you to view.  You can also see it on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfShkumjeq8.

Birth of the Living Dead is streaming through Geisel library.

Thinksheet: Pick one aspect of the Kuhns’ Birth and discuss how it helps you to see Night of the Living Dead in a new way.  

5. The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead, season 1, episode 1 (2010) Available for viewing in Geisel library or on-demand through Amazon and Gerry Canavan, “‘We are the Walking Dead’: Race, Time and Survival in Zombie Narrative,Extrapolation 51:3 (2010): 431-453.

Thinksheet:  What, according to Canavan, is the significance of the phrase “We are the Walking Dead” in the graphic novel version of the Walking Dead?  How might this apply to the television series?   

6. The zombie apocalypse as comedy

Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Alejandro Brugués,Juan of the Dead[Juan de los Muertos] (2010).

Both films on reserve downstairs at the media library in Geisel.

Thinksheet: Various critics have argued that the zombie is a figure of consumption, of the fate of the individual in our extreme version of capitalist society and Shaun of the Dead surely plays on this to great comic effect.  How does Brugués use the zombie to critique Cuban society?

7. Open choice

Some selections from the excellent Living Dead anthology, ed. Adams are available for free here

Read either "Death and Suffrage" by Bailey, "Sparks Fly Upward" by Morton and for your thinksheet write a paragraph explaining how the authors use zombies to explore politics. Why do you think the author chose zombies to explore this topic?

OR read "Dead Like Me" by Castro and write a thinksheet relating the premise of the story to the article we read by Canavan on the Walking Dead series.

8. Conclusion

Optional (make-up) thinksheet: How do you account for the current popularity of the zombie? If monsters tell us something about the cultural moment in which they appear, what do zombies tell us about our current culture?

Course requirements:

Thinksheets: This class is graded pass/fail.  In order to Pass the class you need to respond to five thinksheet questions (that means you may skip one question).  The thinksheet questions are listed in the syllabus. Think sheets are response papers designed to stimulate discussion and help students engage with the works we are reading. During class I will ask a question or assign a topic for the thinksheet.  If you miss the thinksheet topic, it is your responsibility to contact a classmate to find out what you missed.  Please do not expect me to be able to fill you in on the topic via email.

Thinksheet responses need only be a paragraph long.  They should be no longer than one page.  Please type!!!

I will comment on your thinksheets and try to give you feedback to what you have written, but I won’t grade the thinksheets. If your thinksheets show effort and engagement with the assignment, you will pass the course. If I determine that your thinksheets do not show the kind of effort that I expect or if there seem to be other problems, I will inform you in my comments on the thinksheet and ask you to meet with me to discuss improvement. 

It is your responsibility to come to office hours or otherwise arrange to meet with me and discuss this in order to maintain full credit.  Beyond that, only documented medical excuses or documented personal emergencies will excuse a late thinksheet.  No exceptions. It is your responsibility to inform me about such emergencies as soon as it is possible for you to do so.   If you do not contact me in a timely fashion, it may not be possible to make up the work. 

Thinksheets are due at the beginning of class. Without a documented excuse, late thinksheets will not be accepted. I will keep track of your thinksheets in my grade roster, but mistakes can happen so you should hold onto to all of the graded  thinksheets until you receive your final grade.

Vacation plans and extracurricular activities are never an excuse for missed or late work. “What is late work?”: Sometimes there’s just something that keeps a person from getting to class on time.  What I want to avoid is disruptions to the class by habitual late entrances and the abuse of the system of thinksheets.  If I think you are having a problem with getting the thinksheets in on time, I will inform you promptly and we will discuss how you can avoid losing full credit for your work and attendance. It will be your responsibility to follow up on meeting with me about this.

Attendance is required.  Only documented medical or personal emergencies are valid excuses for missing class.

Academic Integrity: The University’s policy on Academic Integrity can be found here: http://senate.ucsd.edu/manual/appendices/app2.htm.  Reading through this policy will supplement our discussion of academic integrity in class.  If you ever have any questions regarding this policies please contact me and we can go through them together.