RELS3627: The End of the World in Literature and History

For at least two and a half millennia, prophets, politicians, and poets have crafted terrifying accounts about the end of the world. This comparatist seminar examines the way different cultures have imagined a final apocalypse with particular attention to the political and social consequences of their visions. Students will read texts that focus on pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, nuclear holocaust, prophecy, cybernetic revolt, divine judgment, resource depletion, meteoric impact, or one of the many other ways in which humans write of their demise. They will use literary analysis to explore the many historical and contemporary wastelands they will encounter. They will write short papers and give in-class presentations on different kinds of apocalypse.

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