Let's Talk about Zombies at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum

Zombies and the phenomenon around the idea of a zombie apocalypse have resurfaced in popular culture in recent years. From Hollywood’s big screen to the local zombie-themed 5K runs in many cities across the country, we have been plagued with a zombie-infatuated culture.

On October 24, Kalamazoo residents will officially be “infected” by the pop culture trend at the Let’s Talk About Zombies, Kalamazoo Valley Community College faculty panel discussion. Although an impending zombie apocalypse as seen in movies and television is not likely and zombie prevalent culture is not for everyone, much can be learned from this wildly popular theme.

The Center for Disease Control has published emergency preparedness information on their website. They use zombies as the subject to lure readers into viewing what could generally be considered dull and standard protocol. “By tuning into the public interest and then responding to it, the CDC gained long sought-after awareness by specifying how best to prepare for a zombie apocalypse, and more importantly, any kind of disaster, both natural or man-made. The CDC is onto something big using this non-traditional way to get its very important message across through the pop culture network,” said Kate Ferraro, who teaches sociology at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Ferraro took a similar approach when trying to explain the mechanisms of society to her students. During a diversity and commonality exercise in one of her classes, Ferraro says that two students in the class figured out that their commonality was that they both had a “zombie survival plan.”

This was when the light bulb went on for Ferraro. About five years ago, Ferraro changed the format for her class and began using Max Brooks’ fictional book, The Zombie Survival Guide. This book helps students to investigate the complex topic of how society functions. If students can explain how society falls apart, conversely, they can begin to understand and explain how it exists. Ferraro said she attempts to keep up with the younger generation’s trends when evaluating her teaching style and she credits her students with helping her incorporate the zombie studies into her course.

At 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 in the Stryker Theater at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, join Ferraro and other Kalamazoo Valley faculty members Jason Bishop, chemistry; Philipp Jonas, economics; and Scott Myers, humanities; for an interactive discussion about zombies, the zombie apocalypse, and their relationship to current culture. They will investigate the current zombie phenomenon, look at the science of zombies, discuss economic consequences of this, or any, social disruption, and share information about Kalamazoo area procedures for emergency preparedness. The free event will run until 9 p.m.

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees.