Decolonizing Zombies
Zombies are generally depicted as metaphors that represent contemporary affects. In this course we will study a number of zombie movies with a focus on theories of race, gender, coloniality, iconoclasm, and queer temporality. With a strong emphasis on the American continent, the course will have a global approach, which will allow us to delve into issues of neoliberalism, cannibalism, genocide, diaspora, virus spread, and political criticism. The main goal is to expose colonial structures embedded in the representation of zombies, as well as in the making of the genre. Among films included are: White Zombie, The Night of the Living Dead, Savageland, World War Z (United States); Mangue negro (Brazil), Juan de los muertos (Cuba), El desierto (Argentina), El año del apocalipsis (Peru); Ladronas de almas, Halley (Mexico); Descendents (Chile), Rec (Spain), I’ll see You in my Dreams (Portugal), The Girl with All the Gifts (United Kingdom); Train to Busan (Korea); The Empire of Corpses, and Versus (Japan). (Two 3XX courses or by waiver) (Previously SPAN 0381.) (Not open to students who have already taken SPAN 0381) 3 hrs. lect.