Undoubtedly, the modern concept of the zombie is a recent phenomenon, with origins in Haitian folklore and American film and fiction (notably George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Richard Matheson’s I am Legend). Nevertheless, the zombie is also indebted to horrors of earlier ages, including the revenants of medieval folklore and literature; although, enthusiasts of present-day zombies often overlook this heritage. Meanwhile, some modern creators of representations of zombie menaces seem to tap into to this tradition in bringing to life new undead creatures that mash the medieval with the modern by allowing more familiar zombies and zombie-like entities to shamble across medieval landscapes. Despite the variety and vitality of these traditions, both the medieval undead and undead medievalisms remain largely neglected by scholarship.
Through this roundtable session, the Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture seeks to bridge the apparent divides between modern and medieval and medieval and modern. We endeavor to foster discussion that allows the undead of the medieval past and the zombies found in medieval-inspired narratives of today to come into contact through our teaching and research. The topic is especially relevant to this conference, given that its “unofficial” theme of is “Pittsburgh: Zombie Capital of the World” in honor of Romero and his work.
Papers:
“Embodying Absence: The Medieval and Modern Undead” by Peter Dendle
“The Divine Undead/The Undead Divine” by Eli Mason
“Draugar and White Walkers: Winter Zombies of the Old North” by Richard Fahey
“Tomes of the Dead: Medievalism, Zombies, and Historical Fantasy-Horror in Viking Dead and Stronghold” by Carl Sell
About the presentersPeter Dendle
Peter Dendle is a Professor of English at Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto. His research interests include medieval literature and folklore, as well as medieval and contemporary constructs of the demonic and the monstrous.
Eli Mason
Elliot Mason is a PhD student at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. His research focuses on monsters and the monstrous, particularly as they relate to issues of marginalization and community construction. He holds MAs in Russian Literature, Medieval Studies, and Religious Studies.
Richard Fahey
Areas of Interest: Old English, Old Norse, Middle English and Anglo-Latin language and literature, intellectual history, medievalism, riddles, rhetoric, monstrosity, wonder, pedagogy, poetics, philology, etymology, code-switching, syncretism, sagas and magic.
Education: B.A. in History and Religion, University of Vermont; M.A.in Medieval Studies, University of Toronto; M.A.in English, University of Notre Dame; PhD in English, University of Notre Dame.
Carl Sell
Dr. Carl B. Sell is the TRIO SSS Writing Specialist at Lock Haven University. Carl’s research explores appropriations of Arthurian legend narratives, characters, and themes in popular culture as an extension of the medieval adaptive tradition. He serves as a member of the advisory boards for The Association for the Advancement of Scholarship and Teaching of the Medieval in Popular Culture and the Alliance for the Promotion of Research on the Matter of Britain.