LIB531
The End of the World: A History of Apocalyptic and Dystopian Literature
We’ll trace the evolution of apocalyptic and dystopian thought, from ancient religious origins to contemporary post-human anxieties. Beginning with ancient Near Eastern, biblical and Christian apocalypses, we’ll explore how visions of cosmic judgment shaped medieval eschatology, mysticism and proto-dystopian critiques of moral decay. Moving through the Reformation, Enlightenment satire and Romantic-era fears of industrialization, we’ll encounter the emergence of secular dystopia. The 20th century introduces political and technological nightmares in Orwell, Huxley and Kafka, shaped by war and totalitarianism. Finally, we’ll turn to modern crises—climate collapse, A.I. and surveillance—through fiction by Atwood and McCarthy and TV series such as Black Mirror, concluding with Rosi Braidotti’s philosophical posthumanism.
This course is offered in person.
A $50 discount is available during check-out for adults 55+.
Overview
Location: Vancouver
Duration: 6 weeks
Tuition: $180 plus GST
Can be applied to:
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate
Upcoming Offerings
- Thu, Sep 10, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Sep 17, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Sep 24, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Oct 1, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Oct 8, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
- Thu, Oct 15, 1:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. Pacific Time (class/lecture)
Aug 19, 2026
Course outline
- Week 1: Foundations鈥攁ncient and religious apocalyptic thought
- Origins of apocalyptic themes in religious and mythic traditions
- Definitions: Apocalyptic versus dystopian
- Ancient Near Eastern and Zoroastrian eschatologies
- The Hebrew bible: Book of Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel
- The Christian apocalypse: Book of Revelation鈥攕ymbols, beasts, the Final Judgment
- Key motifs: cosmic war, divine wrath, righteous remnant
- Influence on later Western literature and art
- Week 2: Medieval apocalyptic and proto-dystopian visions
- Eschatology, moral decline and social chaos in the Middle Ages
- Joachim of Fiore and the Three Ages
- The Tiburtine Sibyl; Letter on the Antichrist (Adso); Visions of Tondal
- Hildegard of Bingen鈥檚 Scivias: gender, vision and cosmic structure
- Piers Plowman: moral corruption as dystopia
- 顿补苍迟别鈥檚 Inferno: infernal topography as critique of social order
- Black Death and apocalyptic hysteria
- Week 3: Reformation to Enlightenment鈥攁pocalyptic hope and rational dystopia
- Religious conflict, revolution and Enlightenment disillusionment
- Protestant eschatology: Luther, Cranach鈥檚 woodcuts and millenarianism
- English Civil War: New Heaven, New Earth movements (Fifth Monarchists)
- Newton's Prophecies of Daniel, rise of rational apocalypticism
- 厂飞颈蹿迟鈥檚 Gulliver鈥檚 Travels: dystopia through satire (Laputa, Houyhnhnms)
- 痴辞濒迟补颈谤别鈥檚 Candide: the collapse of optimism as intellectual apocalypse
- Pre-Romantic pessimism: Night Thoughts; Le Dernier Homme
- Week 4: Romanticism to industrialization鈥攖he birth of secular dystopia
- From sublime terror to industrial alienation
- Mary Shelley鈥檚 The Last Man: plague, solitude and existential loss
- Blake鈥檚 prophetic books: spiritual apocalypse and critique of empire
- Romantic reaction to reason and mechanization
- 19th-century pessimism: Malthus, Darwin and fears of degeneration
- Early science fiction: Frankenstein鈥檚 legacy, pessimism in progress
- Urban dystopias in Dickens (Hard Times) and Carlyle
- Week 5: The 20th century鈥攖otalitarianism, war and technological dystopias
- Political apocalypse and dystopian futures
- First World War and the end of idealism: Yeats鈥檚 鈥淭he Second Coming鈥�
- 翱谤飞别濒濒鈥檚 1984 and totalitarian surveillance
- 贬耻虫濒别测鈥檚 Brave New World: pleasure as control
- 窜补尘测补迟颈苍鈥檚 We: foundations of modern dystopia
- Holocaust and nuclear terror: dystopia as present reality
- Kafka鈥檚 bureaucratic nightmare as existential dystopia
- Week 6: Contemporary apocalypses鈥攃limate, collapse and A.I.
- Postmodern and posthuman dystopias
- Climate change and ecological apocalypse: Atwood鈥檚 MaddAddam, McCarthy鈥檚 The Road
- Technological dystopia: Black Mirror, AI anxieties, post-truth realities
- Pop culture apocalypse: zombies, plagues and survivalist narratives
- Religious themes revisited: Left Behind, rapture fiction
- Rosi Braidotti鈥檚 鈥減osthuman turn鈥�
What you will learn
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Explain the difference between apocalypse and dystopia
- Summarize at least one dystopian novel
- Outline what is meant by the posthuman turn
How you will learn
- Lectures
- Participation in discussions
- Supplementary resources accessed through Canvas
- Reflective essay (applicable only to certificate students)
Learning Materials
No textbook is required. We will provide all course materials online.
Technical Requirements
Handouts and other course resources will be available on Canvas, SFU鈥檚 online learning system.
To access the resources, you should be comfortable with:
- Using everyday software such as browsers, email and social media
- Navigating a website by clicking on links and finding pages in a menu
- Downloading and opening PDF documents