Zombies, the Bible and the End of the World

What do zombies and the Bible have in common? They both have to do with the end of the world, of course! We will compare zombies in today’s popular culture with apocalyptic texts in the Bible (and some not in the Bible) in their ancient contexts. The goal of the course is to recognize the apocalyptic worldview behind various texts in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity and the continuing influence of that worldview to the present day, especially as it manifests in zombie imagery. Through this recognition we will wrestle with apocalyptic and zombie-related themes that are relevant today. By exploring imagery, genre, form, function and context (in all the gory details), we will discover common threads related to symbol, human identity, death, fear, hope and meaning-making.