Wesleyan Professors Come Alive for “An Evening with the Zombies”
Six professors discuss the topic of zombies from different academic perspectives for Panel of the Living Dead. 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12. Free and open to the public.
Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va. - Virginia Wesleyan College’s Winter Session Program presents “An Evening with the Zombies” on Tuesday, Jan. 12, in the Blocker Science Auditorium on the College campus.
6:30 p.m., Panel on the Living Dead
Zombies are currently invading the world of academia, or so it might seem. Seth Grahame-Smith's "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is one of the most-read books on college campuses today. Steve Hockensmith hopes to publish a prequel to the novel in 2010. Few zombie fans have missed the latest "Zombieland" movie, starring Woody Harrelson.
Six Virginia Wesleyan professors will discuss the topic of zombies from different academic perspectives:
- Professor of Health and Human Services Dr. Ben Dobrin: “The Coming Zombie Plague, The Public Health Approach to Survival”
According to Dobrin, the reality is, that there are some conditions out there that do mimic some aspects of Zombieism. He will be presenting what we can do, from a Health and Human Services perspective, to prepare for such an inevitable “outbreak.”
- Assistant Professor of Political Science Dr. Brett Heindl: “Zombie Politics”
Heindl will discuss the underlying messages that zombies represent in political discourse. According to Heindl, the fascination with zombie movies comes from our semiconscious desire to tear up the moral strictures of our modern world and replace them with something simpler - kill or be killed. He will also argue there’s a wanting to return to a form of radical individualism or of tribalism, where we band together in small, purely voluntary groups bonded together with one common purpose: survival.
- Assistant Professor of English Dr. Rebecca Hooker: “Thriller Zombie”
Dr. Hooker will focus on the Michael Jackson video "Thriller," and the notion of how zombies function as metaphors in American popular culture.
- Assistant Professor of Theatre Dr. Travis Malone: “Acting Icons: Playing a Cult Hero”
In portraying Ash Williams from the "Evil Dead" films, arguable one of the most popular cult horror heroes of all time brought to life by Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi, the challenge for an actor is deciding when to impersonate the icon and when to take it a different direction.
- Visiting Assistant Professor of English Dr. Gavin Pate: “World War Z: The Humanity of the Zombie Epic”
Pate will examine the novel “World War Z,” which widens the narrative possibilities of the zombie genre, allowing the voice of survivors and the struggle to remain 'human' to be expanded beyond what film has done to this point. “World War Z,” and fiction particularly, adds nuances to a genre dominated by film.
- Professor of Religious Studies Dr. Craig Wansink “Zombie Jesus: the Bible and the Living Dead”
Wansink will focus on how satirical, deliberately impious images of "Zombie Jesus" compel Christians to recognize basic issues of faith and the permeable line between life and death.
7:30 p.m., Film Screening
George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead, with an introduction to Romero and the film by Dr. David Pagano, assistant professor of English/film studies at Old Dominion University.
Both events are free and open to the public. Convenient parking is available next to Blocker Hall. >>View a map of the College Campus [PDF]
“An Evening with the Zombies” also includes a zombie-themed dinner for Winter Session students including cash prizes for Best Dressed Zombie. Dinner is for Winter Session students and the campus community only.
About Winter Session
Offered each year between the fall and spring semesters, Winter Session is an optional three-week term that complements Virginia Wesleyan’s academic program. Winter Session provides opportunities for students to focus with members of the faculty on a single academic subject and earn course credit. On-campus courses and travel courses are available.
For more information, contact Director of Winter Session Dr. Susan Wansink at 757.455.3235 or swansink@vwu.edu.
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