Zombie Society: Mediale Modulationen der Figur des Zombie in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart

Zombies are everywhere: there are zombie-movies, zombie-games, zombie-books and zombie-TV-shows. In addition to this crossmedial appearance, the zombie is used as an academic metaphor as well as a philosophical figure of thought. Even in statistics, the zombie serves as an allegory in mathematical models. This raises the question of the characteristics and qualities of the zombie, and how they account for the current boom. The thesis focuses the systematical analysis of the zombie and its various crossmedial variations, its origins and evolution as well as its relevance in the past and in the present. It becomes apparent that to deal with the zombie in media is more than just a bloody and gory amusement: it can even help with coping with life and identity formation.