We live in catastrophic times. The world is reeling from the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression, millenarian religious movements are in ascendency worldwide, zombie apocalypse is ubiquitous in popular culture, and the dire consequences of climate change are becoming more evident each day. This course will consider the various narratives of apocalypse from historical, semiotic, political, sociological and ecological perspectives, with an emphasis on the environmental crisis in all of its manifestations. We will consider such themes as “overpopulation,” resource scarcity, the enclosure of “commons,” warfare and counterinsurgency, “failed states” and environmental “sacrifice zones,” the emergence of “collapsitarian” politics, and the uneven geography of catastrophe in the current world system. Throughout the course we will critically scrutinize cultural and aesthetic interventions on the subject of social and environmental apocalypse.Social Science and History (SSHIS) courses develop students' critical thinking skills through the study of history and the social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, geography), as well as through contemporary interdisciplines that draw heavily on these fields (e.g. feminist and queer studies, media studies, urban studies, ethnic studies). Subject matter in these courses contributes to students' cultural literacy while instructional materials and classroom assignments introduce basic research problems and techniques.

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