Studies in English: Apocalyptic Literature

We will read contemporary novels about the world after it ends — after pandemic, after ecological ruin, and after the failure of institutions and infrastructure. These novels, Peter Heller's The Dog Stars, Max Brooks's World War Z, Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, Hugh Howey's Wool, and Cormac McCarthy's The Road all pose the question: what do people owe each other when nothing is left to enforce morality?

Along the way we will examine what happens to art and memory at the end of the world, and whether morality needs society to be viable. We will also examine how the different narrative structures of broken chronology, oral history, and stripped-down prose influence our experience as readers. Your grade will be based on pop reading quizzes, in-class participation, two exams, and one short paper.