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Apocalypse and Utopia

Overview

Module description

In this module we explore representations and ideas about both 'the end of the world' and ‘utopias’ in a range of forms and across historical periods. You will gain a thorough grounding in the representational history of these topics in visual art, film, theatre, myth, literature, philosophy, religion and history, and be introduced to a range of texts and audio-visual works that explore fantasies and representations of apocalypse, Armageddon, disaster, plague, flood, ruin and death on the one hand and renewal, resurrection, new worlds, utopias and imagined futures on the other. We will consider the ideological assumptions and projections underlying cultural production relating to these themes.

The module provides frameworks within which you can understand how ‘end of the world’ narratives are received and reproduced across different genres and contexts, and how they work to foreclose or allow for change and alternative futures.

Indicative syllabus

  • Political utopias
  • The end of history
  • Disease and empire
  • Natural disaster
  • Beyond capitalism
  • War, disease, pandemic
  • Memories of historical pandemics
  • Death and dying and the afterlife
  • Artistic, cinematic interventions
  • Apocalypse and utopia in literature and theatre
  • Apocalypse and utopia in film and visual culture
  • Myths of apocalypse and utopia

Learning objectives

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  • understand the scope of the concept of apocalypse and utopia across a wide range of genres
  • understand the ideological, philosophical implications of constructions of apocalypse and utopia
  • study representations of utopia and apocalypse through literary, visual, dramatic, philosophical and historical materials
  • demonstrate a comparative approach to cultural texts in an interdisciplinary context.