Course Description and Goals: This course examines representations of the end of the world in literature and film to reveal the differences in values and attitudes to human life and humanity in Russian, European, and American cultures. We will examine various images of the apocalypse, from the most ancient literary and religious representations to the most recent movies and novels. We will pay special attention to the change in the attitudes of writers and creators to human protagonists and humanity. The course will emphasize how writers and film directors imagine modifications and the extinction of humans.  We will discuss anthropocentrism, human exceptionalism, human nature, and the cultural and political implications of those concepts. We will also consider animal rights, transhumanism, and posthumanism. Changes in the images of the future from ancient to contemporary fiction and film will be central to our discussions.

All readings and assignments are in English.