Theorizing Religion with Zombies
RELI 264
Spring 2026
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
AMST 265 |
| Course Cluster and Certificates: Sustainability and Environmental Justice |
This course introduces students to theories in religious studies and other fields in order to investigate the intellectual and cultural histories of two highly influential and essentially religious ideas: the zombie and the apocalypse. We will critically trace their representations in popular culture in order to explore writings in biblical narrative, history, modernity, monster theory, alterity, gender, capitalism, race, epidemiology, film theory, and media studies. We will begin with ancient texts, move to the history of the concept of the zonbi in Haiti, and then trace the trope of this modern monster and its various meanings into the contemporary moment. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS RELI |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (American Studies)(Caribbean Studies Minor)(Religion Minor)(Religion) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Maurice Wiles, "What Christians Believe," in THE OXFORD ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, 1990.
Omri Elisha, MORAL AMBITION: MOBILIZATION AND SOCIAL OUTREACH IN EVANGELICAL MEGACHURCHES. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011.
Birgit Meyer, "Religious Sensations. Why Media, Aesthetics and Power Matter in the Study of Contemporary Religion" (Presentation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, October 6, 2006).
Bethany Moreton, TO SERVE GOD AND WALMART: THE MAKING OF CHRISTIAN FREE ENTERPRISE. Harvard U Press, 2010.
Cristina Rocha, "Cool Christianity: The Fashion-Celebrity-Megachurch Industrial Complex," Material Religion 17, no. 5 (2021): 580-602.
R. Marie Griffith, MORAL COMBAT: HOW SEX DIVIDED AMERICAN CHRISTIANS AND FRACTURED AMERICAN POLITICS New York: Basic Books, 2017.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly Response papers, active participation in discussion, one class opening presentation, two 5-page essays and and a final presentation are the course requirements. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course fulfills the "Historical Traditions" and "Thematic Approach" requirements for the Religion major. |
| Instructor(s): McAlister,Elizabeth A. Times: ..T.R.. 10:20AM-11:40AM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 19 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 19 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 4 | FR: 4 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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