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"We're All Infected": Essays on AMC's The Walking Dead and the Fate of the Human
This edited collection brings together an introduction and 13 original scholarly essays on AMC's The Walking Dead. The first group of essays addresses the pervasive bloodletting of the series: What are the consequences of the series' unremitting violence? Essays explore violence committed in self-defense, racist violence, mass lawlessness, the violence of law enforcement, the violence of mourning, and the violence of history. The second half of the collection explores an equally urgent question: What does it mean to be human?
- GenresNonfictionZombies
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 27, 2014
"We're All Infected" - Essays on AMC's The Walking Dead and the Fate of the Human edited by Dawn Keetley. McFarland, Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640, mcfarlandpub.com, 800-253-2187. 21014. $35.00. trade paper ISBN 978-0-7864-7628-2 chapter notes, bibliography, index.
Fourteen chapters including Introduction and Afterword topically and insightfully take up the popular TV series "The Walking Dead" from many different angles. The authors are academics from universities mostly in the US, but a few from England or Australia. Editor Keetley is an associate professor at Lehign University in Pennsylvania. Like her, the others teach English or writing; although one is a criminologist. Besides the Introduction, Keetley has a chapter titled "Human Choice and Consciousness." The criminologist Angus Nurse from England has the chapter ""Asserting Law and Order Over the Mindless."
The essays are divided into two main sections. The first named "Society's End" explore ways humans and zombies are "symbiotically bound together." The locus of this is violence. Zombies, virtually programmatically, commit violence against humans. That is all they do. Zombies need no nourishment. They do not grow food, harvest, or raise animals for nourishment. Their attacks on humans are not for nourishment either. Their violence is never-ending and empty—violence for violence's sake.
By comparison, the violence of humans is complicated, though still at the surface of their being taking not much provocation or rationale to happen. With humans, incidents of violence or witnessing it occasionally gives rise to moments of sentimentality. More importantly though as represented in the TV series, violence is rooted in the need and desire for safety, or security. Unlike the zombies, humans commit violence against one another, justified by fears of the other, racism, shared sense of threat of the unknown and unmanageable, and the sublimation of these in what are seen as necessary actions to provide security against terrorism.
The second section "Posthumanity" moves beyond violence relating to real or imaginary social conditions and self-evident characteristics of human nature to the series as a scenario of contemporary apocalyptic visions and the historical—though actually millennial—break to the "posthuman" (along the lines of the concept that humanity has moved into a "post-Christian" phase). The five essays here explore the notion of a "blind corporeality" humans share with zombies. This section moves beyond the topic of violence in its varied contemporary manifestations to a broader anthropological view that the zombies "represent an 'interior' threat, some non-human yet finally entrenched part of ourselves." This non-human area of humans—to put it this way—is seen reflected in the widespread illiteracy, ignorance of the past, and other modern phenomena dissolving language, knowledge, education, and other traditionally valued pursuits keeping humans from turning to violence and central to conserving an accepted social order.
The essays are exceptionally stimulating, relevant, and timely.
Fourteen chapters including Introduction and Afterword topically and insightfully take up the popular TV series "The Walking Dead" from many different angles. The authors are academics from universities mostly in the US, but a few from England or Australia. Editor Keetley is an associate professor at Lehign University in Pennsylvania. Like her, the others teach English or writing; although one is a criminologist. Besides the Introduction, Keetley has a chapter titled "Human Choice and Consciousness." The criminologist Angus Nurse from England has the chapter ""Asserting Law and Order Over the Mindless."
The essays are divided into two main sections. The first named "Society's End" explore ways humans and zombies are "symbiotically bound together." The locus of this is violence. Zombies, virtually programmatically, commit violence against humans. That is all they do. Zombies need no nourishment. They do not grow food, harvest, or raise animals for nourishment. Their attacks on humans are not for nourishment either. Their violence is never-ending and empty—violence for violence's sake.
By comparison, the violence of humans is complicated, though still at the surface of their being taking not much provocation or rationale to happen. With humans, incidents of violence or witnessing it occasionally gives rise to moments of sentimentality. More importantly though as represented in the TV series, violence is rooted in the need and desire for safety, or security. Unlike the zombies, humans commit violence against one another, justified by fears of the other, racism, shared sense of threat of the unknown and unmanageable, and the sublimation of these in what are seen as necessary actions to provide security against terrorism.
The second section "Posthumanity" moves beyond violence relating to real or imaginary social conditions and self-evident characteristics of human nature to the series as a scenario of contemporary apocalyptic visions and the historical—though actually millennial—break to the "posthuman" (along the lines of the concept that humanity has moved into a "post-Christian" phase). The five essays here explore the notion of a "blind corporeality" humans share with zombies. This section moves beyond the topic of violence in its varied contemporary manifestations to a broader anthropological view that the zombies "represent an 'interior' threat, some non-human yet finally entrenched part of ourselves." This non-human area of humans—to put it this way—is seen reflected in the widespread illiteracy, ignorance of the past, and other modern phenomena dissolving language, knowledge, education, and other traditionally valued pursuits keeping humans from turning to violence and central to conserving an accepted social order.
The essays are exceptionally stimulating, relevant, and timely.
May 25, 2020
As a fan of The Walking Dead, both the graphic novel and the show, I thought this essay collection might be a fun thing to read. Turns out "fun" probably isn't the best word to describe this collection; "challenging" works better. It's actually pretty dry and serious. I don't remember what essay I was reading at the time, but I used the book once to put myself to sleep when I was having insomnia.
My favorite essay was the one written by the collection's editor, Dawn Keetley—Human Choice and Zombie Consciousness. I liked Apocalyptic Utopia:The Zombie and the (r)Evolution of Subjectivity, by Chris Boehm, too.
Most of the essays were worth reading. I often felt like I needed a foundation in philosophy or even more specifically, in what philosophers have written about zombies, to understand all the references these writers made.
The essays varied in accessibility; I swear a few of the writers were trying to be as esoteric as possible. Still, there are interesting ideas to explore if you're willing to put in some time and effort.
My favorite essay was the one written by the collection's editor, Dawn Keetley—Human Choice and Zombie Consciousness. I liked Apocalyptic Utopia:The Zombie and the (r)Evolution of Subjectivity, by Chris Boehm, too.
Most of the essays were worth reading. I often felt like I needed a foundation in philosophy or even more specifically, in what philosophers have written about zombies, to understand all the references these writers made.
The essays varied in accessibility; I swear a few of the writers were trying to be as esoteric as possible. Still, there are interesting ideas to explore if you're willing to put in some time and effort.
January 6, 2019
Great essays to consider this series in different lights.
August 18, 2020
Hard so say, it started good but I randomly lost it. I think in an airport bathroom, if anyone finds it at McCarran Airport let me know it ends.
August 8, 2014
I am a huge Walking Dead fan and I was really looking to reading the essays in We’re All Infected: Essays on AMC’s the Walking Dead and the Fate of the Human. I have spent hours debating with friends, discussing the meaning of key points on the show, discussing what zombies have to say about our culture, what causes some supernatural entity – whether it’s zombies or vampires or werewolves – to become suddenly in vogue. Lots of great topics there and I was hoping for a great series of interesting essays.
This is a dense bit of reading. It’s less like reading an essay and more like reading someone’s dissertation. I knew as soon as I started coming across passages like this one in the second essay, “Burying the Living with the Dead: Security, Survival and the Sanction of Violence” by Steven Pokornowski, that this would not be easy to plow through:
Second, I propose that a multidisciplinary perspective informed by biopolitical, posthumanist, and critical race theories can offer a way to resist this representational problematic at the levels of both consumption and production – can offer, in fact, a political and ethical critique that takes into account the role of the social constructions of humanity and race in maintaining sovereignty.
I don’t even know what that means, and it certainly doesn’t sound like the sort of fun and engaging discussion I was looking for.
There are a couple of high points. I particularly enjoyed P. Ivan Young’s essay, “Walking Tall or Walking Dead? The American Cowboy in the Zombie Apocalypse.” It goes into great detail comparing the tv show “The Walking Dead” to the 1953 film, Shane. I’ve never seen the film, but Young calls out instance after instance where the two Shanes (and Rick, as well) face similar circumstances and react in similar ways. There are too many similarities to be simple coincidence.
I also enjoyed “Zombie Time: Temporality and Living Death” by Gwyneth Peaty. It discusses the concept of time in the series – the ways in which time seems to have stopped, and just how important it is for civilized people to have a sense to time, to feel like they are moving forward. Various points in the series – Andrea planning to celebrate her sister’s birthday, the watch that Hershel gives to Glenn (and its later appearance in the opening montage), the big digital countdown clock at the CDC – all talk in their own way about the effect of time on the living characters. For the walkers, there is no time. Their death, which should mark the end of time for them, instead marks just a change of form. Although their time should be up, they keep on going, with no end in sight.
I have to say that overall, this was a disappointment. Someone with a more scholarly bent might appreciate it more, but I found most of the essays a real slog. There are many great ideas in this series to discuss and I have read some terrific articles on the various themes of the zombie apocalypse, but these are so weighted down with jargon and obscure references (do I think it is significant that Dale drove a Winnebago and Shane drove a Jeep Cherokee, both cars named after Indian tribes that are not native to the region? No, I do not) that I couldn’t really enjoy them.
This is a dense bit of reading. It’s less like reading an essay and more like reading someone’s dissertation. I knew as soon as I started coming across passages like this one in the second essay, “Burying the Living with the Dead: Security, Survival and the Sanction of Violence” by Steven Pokornowski, that this would not be easy to plow through:
Second, I propose that a multidisciplinary perspective informed by biopolitical, posthumanist, and critical race theories can offer a way to resist this representational problematic at the levels of both consumption and production – can offer, in fact, a political and ethical critique that takes into account the role of the social constructions of humanity and race in maintaining sovereignty.
I don’t even know what that means, and it certainly doesn’t sound like the sort of fun and engaging discussion I was looking for.
There are a couple of high points. I particularly enjoyed P. Ivan Young’s essay, “Walking Tall or Walking Dead? The American Cowboy in the Zombie Apocalypse.” It goes into great detail comparing the tv show “The Walking Dead” to the 1953 film, Shane. I’ve never seen the film, but Young calls out instance after instance where the two Shanes (and Rick, as well) face similar circumstances and react in similar ways. There are too many similarities to be simple coincidence.
I also enjoyed “Zombie Time: Temporality and Living Death” by Gwyneth Peaty. It discusses the concept of time in the series – the ways in which time seems to have stopped, and just how important it is for civilized people to have a sense to time, to feel like they are moving forward. Various points in the series – Andrea planning to celebrate her sister’s birthday, the watch that Hershel gives to Glenn (and its later appearance in the opening montage), the big digital countdown clock at the CDC – all talk in their own way about the effect of time on the living characters. For the walkers, there is no time. Their death, which should mark the end of time for them, instead marks just a change of form. Although their time should be up, they keep on going, with no end in sight.
I have to say that overall, this was a disappointment. Someone with a more scholarly bent might appreciate it more, but I found most of the essays a real slog. There are many great ideas in this series to discuss and I have read some terrific articles on the various themes of the zombie apocalypse, but these are so weighted down with jargon and obscure references (do I think it is significant that Dale drove a Winnebago and Shane drove a Jeep Cherokee, both cars named after Indian tribes that are not native to the region? No, I do not) that I couldn’t really enjoy them.
August 7, 2014
This collection of academic essays explores the nature of humanity — and their differences or similarities to the undead zombies in AMC's The Walking Dead (one of my favorite TV shows). A couple of these essays are intellectually dense to the point of being obtuse, but most are readable and present some fascinating interpretations of the show. Here are few of the essays that stood out for me.
Steven Pokornowski in his essay "Burying the Living with the Dead" compares zombies to viruses and the external battle of humans to survive in the face of them to the human immune system, which doesn't always work at an optimal level. He writes, "Just as immune can slip into autoimmune, the sanction of violence in self defense can devolve into generalized violence." In his discussion of biopolitics and social justice he looks at how bare existance with with nothing more meaningful to love for leads to a survivalist system of exclusion. "In the logic of survival, the drive for security for one group of people often comes at the expense of another group."
"Walking Tall or Walling Dead?" by P. Ivan Young presented an amusing and fascinating comparison of The Walking Dead with the cowboy myth, particularly in the 1953 movie Shane. He uses Rick (with his sheriff hat and horseback ride across the apocalypse) and Shane (as an inversion of the 1953) movie character of the same name to the honorable cowboy image of the silver screen.
"Rest in Pieces" by Laura Kremmel discusses the importance and changing parameters if ritual in world where the line between dead and living is not clearly defined.
It's interesting to think of a zombie apocalypse as a kind of utopia, Chris Boehm does in "Apocalyptic Utopia." He describes the zombies as being the force that erases the old flawed society and allows for a new society to be built, with Rick as the idealistic figure trying to hold to the promise of a new world.
"Zombie Time" by Gwyneth Peaty looks at zombies and the survivors in terms of their relation to time, notably that they have none. "The zombies in The Walking Dead represent a form of monstrous timelessness that is not infinite time but an infinite lack of time... It is perhaps fitting that these zombies are not the energetic, hyper-mobile kind, but the more traditional shufflers. They do not run; there is no need to hurry, for they have all the time in the world." She shows how watches and a sense of time running out are continually revealed in the series.
And, of course, in my love for slow, shambles, I have to quote from Dave Beisecker's Afterword: "We see why it's actually important to both Romero and Kirkman that, at least individually, zombies are as slow and as they [humans] are. That we can eventually fall to such a mindless horde ultimately says much more about our human frailties than it does about theirs."
Steven Pokornowski in his essay "Burying the Living with the Dead" compares zombies to viruses and the external battle of humans to survive in the face of them to the human immune system, which doesn't always work at an optimal level. He writes, "Just as immune can slip into autoimmune, the sanction of violence in self defense can devolve into generalized violence." In his discussion of biopolitics and social justice he looks at how bare existance with with nothing more meaningful to love for leads to a survivalist system of exclusion. "In the logic of survival, the drive for security for one group of people often comes at the expense of another group."
"Walking Tall or Walling Dead?" by P. Ivan Young presented an amusing and fascinating comparison of The Walking Dead with the cowboy myth, particularly in the 1953 movie Shane. He uses Rick (with his sheriff hat and horseback ride across the apocalypse) and Shane (as an inversion of the 1953) movie character of the same name to the honorable cowboy image of the silver screen.
"Rest in Pieces" by Laura Kremmel discusses the importance and changing parameters if ritual in world where the line between dead and living is not clearly defined.
It's interesting to think of a zombie apocalypse as a kind of utopia, Chris Boehm does in "Apocalyptic Utopia." He describes the zombies as being the force that erases the old flawed society and allows for a new society to be built, with Rick as the idealistic figure trying to hold to the promise of a new world.
"Zombie Time" by Gwyneth Peaty looks at zombies and the survivors in terms of their relation to time, notably that they have none. "The zombies in The Walking Dead represent a form of monstrous timelessness that is not infinite time but an infinite lack of time... It is perhaps fitting that these zombies are not the energetic, hyper-mobile kind, but the more traditional shufflers. They do not run; there is no need to hurry, for they have all the time in the world." She shows how watches and a sense of time running out are continually revealed in the series.
And, of course, in my love for slow, shambles, I have to quote from Dave Beisecker's Afterword: "We see why it's actually important to both Romero and Kirkman that, at least individually, zombies are as slow and as they [humans] are. That we can eventually fall to such a mindless horde ultimately says much more about our human frailties than it does about theirs."
September 22, 2014
If I'm being honest, I quit even though I was so, so close to finishing. I just couldn't stomach it anymore.
No, I'm not talking about gorey details or facing the implications of humanity raised by its authors.
Unfortunately, I'm talking about the inaccessibility of this collections of essays to the common reader.
The cover, the title, and even perhaps the synopsis made me think that I was in for another one of my strange enjoyments of learning more about a series that I enjoy and discussing the various issues and wider implications that can be made by it. What does it mean to be zombie? Are the zombies in the series really zombies? What does it mean to say that we're all infected?
And while, yes, it's safe to say that I -think- these questions were answered this anthology of academic essays on AMC's The Walking Dead seris, I cannot tell you for certain. I literally have no idea what most of the essays were about, despite taking my time with them. I had to use the comment feature of Goodreads just to document what each essay was sort of about so I could understand that I was making some amount of progress.
I am in my first semester of graduate studies. Okay, it's no PHD program and I'm no genius. But I'd like to think that I am fairly smart and well-read and can understand most things. But I had the hardest time with this book, as each essay went into theories and philosophical depths of thought that I simply could not follow. Perhaps if I had more of a background in some of the theories that were mentioned I would have had an easier time reaching the same conclusions as the authors. Instead, I found myself locked out.
Perhaps I wasn't the intended audience for this anthology. But I'm disappointed because I really would like to debate some of the larger issues presented in The Walking Dead.
No, I'm not talking about gorey details or facing the implications of humanity raised by its authors.
Unfortunately, I'm talking about the inaccessibility of this collections of essays to the common reader.
The cover, the title, and even perhaps the synopsis made me think that I was in for another one of my strange enjoyments of learning more about a series that I enjoy and discussing the various issues and wider implications that can be made by it. What does it mean to be zombie? Are the zombies in the series really zombies? What does it mean to say that we're all infected?
And while, yes, it's safe to say that I -think- these questions were answered this anthology of academic essays on AMC's The Walking Dead seris, I cannot tell you for certain. I literally have no idea what most of the essays were about, despite taking my time with them. I had to use the comment feature of Goodreads just to document what each essay was sort of about so I could understand that I was making some amount of progress.
I am in my first semester of graduate studies. Okay, it's no PHD program and I'm no genius. But I'd like to think that I am fairly smart and well-read and can understand most things. But I had the hardest time with this book, as each essay went into theories and philosophical depths of thought that I simply could not follow. Perhaps if I had more of a background in some of the theories that were mentioned I would have had an easier time reaching the same conclusions as the authors. Instead, I found myself locked out.
Perhaps I wasn't the intended audience for this anthology. But I'm disappointed because I really would like to debate some of the larger issues presented in The Walking Dead.
August 9, 2019
Here you have a bunch of smart professors talking about AMC's TV show 'The Walking Dead'. As much as I love the show, I had a sneaking suspicion that this book might be a bit out there. Even though there is much more than zombies happening on 'The Walking Dead', this is still a show about zombies. After reading, overall there were even more insightful things to find in the book (on the show) than I originally thought. Some things covered went a bit over my head, some things seemed a bit of stretch, but all of it was interesting. Even though the book contains around ten page essays from various people, the content didn't seem to overlap too much. As far as the seasons covered, the essays were written as season three was happening, so the book mostly covers seasons one, two and glimpses of the first few episodes of season three. I was a little disappointed before reading when I found out that the book did not cover season four, as I believe it is the best yet. But I'm looking forward to a 'volume two' when 'The Walking Dead' eventually winds down... hopefully not for a few years now! I enjoyed reading this one, as with all the worthwhile TV shows, there is always more to it than you originally think, and luckily there always seems to be smart professors to point out what you miss.
June 6, 2014
With 13 original scholarly essays written by researchers in philosophy, criminology, literature, and other fields, editor and contributor Keetley (Public Women, Public Words) gathers a collection that takes an academic approach to AMC's hit zombie show. Divided into two parts, the first half of the book explores the violence of the series and how it acts as commentary on topics ranging from racism and gun control to post -- 9/11 issues involving domestic security and the use of preemptive force. The second half, "Posthumanity" features essays on how the zombie apocalypse could possibly lead to a Utopian reboot of society; the role of "choice" in the series; and the challenge of understanding the zombie to be simultaneously alive and dead. VERDICT Readers expecting a better grasp of the show may be disappointed that the series serves more as a reference point for academic discussion. Noticeable repetition with specific scenes from a few episodes (e.g., "Guts" or "TS-19") being mentioned are in the majority of the essays. However, for zombie fans with a strong background in the humanities there's a lot to sink your teeth into here.
Library Journal. 4/15/2014, Vol. 139 Issue 7, p89-89. 1p.
Library Journal. 4/15/2014, Vol. 139 Issue 7, p89-89. 1p.
November 22, 2014
These kinds of books are usually a mixed bag and you have to expect one or two essays that are just downright bad, but even by those standards this one was a disappointment. There were one or two essays that were good, not great, but good. The first essay was good except for a weird tangent towards the end about how the show upholds traditional gender roles (Um, yeah, maybe if you're still half way through the second season). One of the few standouts was the third essay, about the use of the archetype of the cowboy on the show, and the fifth made the point that there's a psychological need for morning rituals and the characters in The Walking Dead live in a world were an open casket funeral is not really possible. However, there were far too many essays that were just awful, like something written by a student trying to stretch a Wikipedia stub into an essay and then attempting to obscure the fact by using a lot of words that they were shaky on the meaning of, spending the first four pages telling us what they are going to say in the essay and the remaining pages restating the same without adding evidence.
August 24, 2014
Rating: 4 of 5
Don't let the length of these 13 essays fool you. "We're All Infected" is dense, academic reading. I tackled about two essays a week over the last eight weeks, and I still bookmarked numerous pages and highlighted dozens of passages for future study. There was a lot to digest in each one.
"'Talking Bodies' in a Zombie Apocalypse" by Gary Farnell was the only essay with an angle completely new to me. All the others presented the usual zombie themes, metaphors and allegories.
Recommended only to readers looking for a scholarly discussion and dissection of the zombies in AMC's The Walking Dead. (Students and researchers will eat this up.) For the average zombie enthusiast, though, the introduction and afterword would likely be the most accessible and enjoyable selections.
Received paperback from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Don't let the length of these 13 essays fool you. "We're All Infected" is dense, academic reading. I tackled about two essays a week over the last eight weeks, and I still bookmarked numerous pages and highlighted dozens of passages for future study. There was a lot to digest in each one.
"'Talking Bodies' in a Zombie Apocalypse" by Gary Farnell was the only essay with an angle completely new to me. All the others presented the usual zombie themes, metaphors and allegories.
Recommended only to readers looking for a scholarly discussion and dissection of the zombies in AMC's The Walking Dead. (Students and researchers will eat this up.) For the average zombie enthusiast, though, the introduction and afterword would likely be the most accessible and enjoyable selections.
Received paperback from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
February 20, 2016
This is a collection of essays about my favorite TV show, "The Walking Dead."
Some dismiss it as pop culture trash, but zombies have a long tradition in our culture of making us look at a few things about ourselves and our reactions to extreme circumstances. This collection takes a scholarly look at the sociological, psychological, and anthropological impacts of an end-of-the-world scenario...a human "extinction event."
Some of this got a little too far into the realm of psychobabble, and I rolled my eyes a few times. But it still had some very interesting and thought-provoking things to say. I would recommend this to any hardcore fan of the show or of the zombie genre.
Just remember...we're all the walking dead.
Some dismiss it as pop culture trash, but zombies have a long tradition in our culture of making us look at a few things about ourselves and our reactions to extreme circumstances. This collection takes a scholarly look at the sociological, psychological, and anthropological impacts of an end-of-the-world scenario...a human "extinction event."
Some of this got a little too far into the realm of psychobabble, and I rolled my eyes a few times. But it still had some very interesting and thought-provoking things to say. I would recommend this to any hardcore fan of the show or of the zombie genre.
Just remember...we're all the walking dead.
August 4, 2014
Good insight on all things Zombie and The Walking Dead.
July 29, 2019
I found this book too darn boring. I would not recommend to a fan of the Walking Dead.
October 18, 2015
In terms of an actual literary or cultural studies perspective on The Walking Dead, this is THE book to go to.
Written by actual scholars and a perfect source of reference for your next paper.
Written by actual scholars and a perfect source of reference for your next paper.
February 7, 2016
not quite what i was hoping for. i like the collections that have funny essays mixed in with the serious ones. and i thought most of these said basically the same thing.
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