HNAR-380: Going Viral

By the mid-1990s, epidemics had seeped both into the cultural consciousness and public discourse. Since then, outbreak narratives have continued to resonate with changing anxieties in the American cultural and social fabric. This course will focus on American films and TV shows from the mid-1990s to the present that depict the three main types of outbreak narratives: The Globalization Outbreak includes those (like Contagion and Outbreak) that focus on the repercussions of globalization and the ultimate failure of national boundaries to protect; The Terrorist Outbreak includes those (like 24 and 12 Monkeys) centered around the threat of bio-terrorism; The Post-Apocalypse Outbreak includes those (like World War Z and The Walking Dead) that explore what happens after the virus has decimated populations. This section will also continue a discussion of the contemporary zombie figure.