LIB531 - The End of the World: A History of Apocalyptic and Dystopian Literature
Course Description
We’ll trace the evolution of apocalyptic and dystopian thought, from ancient religious origins to contemporary post-human anxieties. Beginning with ancient Near Eastern, biblical and Christian apocalypses, we’ll explore how visions of cosmic judgment shaped medieval eschatology, mysticism and proto-dystopian critiques of moral decay. Moving through the Reformation, Enlightenment satire and Romantic-era fears of industrialization, we’ll encounter the emergence of secular dystopia. The 20th century introduces political and technological nightmares in Orwell, Huxley and Kafka, shaped by war and totalitarianism. Finally, we’ll turn to modern crises—climate collapse, A.I. and surveillance—through fiction by Atwood and McCarthy and TV series such as Black Mirror, concluding with Rosi Braidotti’s philosophical posthumanism.
This course is offered in person.
A $50 discount is available during check-out for adults 55+.