Zombies Invade Baltimore...Well, Just the University

Recent articles in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and even the BBC have discussed the current (Fall 2010) English 333 course "Media Genres: Zombies" at the University of Baltimore. The course is part of a new pop culture studies minor being offered at the university. Regardless of how you regard the academic significance of pop culture, this course clearly is an important and worthy study not just for English major or people looking for cool minors, but for every man, woman and child in America.

The course instructor is Arnold Blumberg, who curates a pop culture museum at Baltimore's baseball stadium Camden Yards and has written Zombiemania: 80 Movies To Die For. He seems well qualified in pop culture trends and zombie lore and will make a good instructor. Consider this quote from the Baltimore Sun article:

Blumberg starts class with a deceptively complicated question: What is a zombie?
"I know that lately, a lot of zombies have been created by viruses," one student volunteers. "Is that a zombie?"
"Absolutely!" Blumberg says merrily. One of his key beliefs is that we use zombies to reflect contemporary dreads, such as our current fear of pandemics. He seems thrilled that a student has tapped this theme so quickly.

He also is open to all sorts of zombie manifestations, e.g. radiation, voodoo, etc. I'll have to send him a link to my blog.

The course materials are intriguing. Also from the Baltimore Sun:

Students will watch 16 classic zombie films (including "Zombi 2," in which a zombie fights a shark), read zombie comics and, as an alternative to a final research paper, have the chance to write scripts or draw storyboards for their ideal zombie flicks.

Working out the ideal zombie movie does sound like a fun activity, though I don't know how well it will prepare the students. Perhaps they will imagine their own homes or dorms as the battleground and consider how to secure them and best methods for fighting. I may also write with this concern.

Another awesome idea is to have a distance learning version of the course. Certainly a lot of people would be interested in taking the course without wanting the academic credit. I would sign up in a heartbeat. Or better yet, I could craft my own course...hmmm...if only I had the time! I think I hear one the children calling now.