CMS 303 | Genre Studies
"Apocalypse & Popular Culture"
Winter 2026 | M/W, 12:30-2:20pm, MGH 287
Kallie Strode (she/her) | strodeek@uw.edu | Office hours are by appointment, via Zoom or in Padelford C201
The end approaches, but the apocalypse is long lived. —Jacques Derrida
How do popular cultures encourage apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic thinking? This course is a survey of catastrophic imaginings as they emerge in the 20th and 21st centuries within sci-fi film and television. Some of the course’s major frameworks include neoliberalism and digital labor, feminisms, ecological awareness, queer studies, nostalgia, and nuclearism.
Alongside watching and analyzing media objects, students will be required to engage in creative and analytical small group work and discussions, complete course readings, attend in-class lectures, write reading responses, and complete a final project.
The course syllabus can be found here (PDF) and here (Word doc).
The course calendar schedule can be found here (PDF) and here (Word doc).
Reading Response Guidelines | 3 Submissions Total