Institution: Carleton University ()
Category: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Language:
English
Course Description
Could you survive a zombie apocalypse? What even is a zombie? Why are people afraid of witches and why were they burnt at the stake? Who would win in a fight: Dracula or Frankenstein? (Okay, we won’t actually answer that last one. But we WILL give you the tools to decide that for yourself!) Join us for a week of hands-on activities, movie clips, and class discussions focused on monstrous figures across pop-culture, religion, and history. We will learn about their origins, characteristics, cultural uses, and why they matter. This week will give you a look into the fields of anthropology, mythology, and media studies. Using these perspectives, we will discover the origins of your favorite monsters, look at how monstrous depictions change over time, and debate what they actually represent. More than just monsters, you will also gain tools and skills for analyzing media and culture as a whole. By the end of the course, you’ll know the answer to some of life’s most pressing questions: Why do we view mermaids as good but sirens as evil? Where do the monsters in Stranger Things, Percy Jackson, and Wednesday come from? Team Edward or team Jacob?
