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The Science of Undeath: Zombies and Animated Corpses in Historical Perspective

October 18, 2017 @
4:30 p.m.
Eastern Time
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The popularity of shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Zombie Nation” reveal an increasing national fascination with the undead. But interest in zombies, revenants, and animated corpses is nothing new, having long captured the imagination not just of fiction writers, but also of theologians,  philosophers, and even scientists. The question of when a human is truly dead has been the focus of scholarly investigation for millennia. In this talk, historian Winston Black (Assumption College) will examine how and why medieval scholars debated corpse animation and hence understood the porous boundaries between life and death. Clark University professor Deborah Robertson (Biology) will offer commentary.

The Roots of Everything is a lecture series sponsored by Early Modernists Unite (EMU)—a faculty collaborative bringing together scholars of medieval and early modern Europe and America—in conjunction with the Higgins School of Humanities. The series highlights various aspects of modern existence originating in the early modern world and teases out connections between past and present.

This event is co-sponsored by the Higgins School of Humanities, Early Modernists Unite, and the Departments of Biology and History.

Date: October 18, 2017

Time: 4:30pm

Details

Date:
October 18, 2017
Time:
4:30 p.m.