STS 135
Politics after the Apocalypse Spring 2026
Division II
Cross-listed PSCI 172

What shape will politics take after the apocalypse? Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the AI revolution, and the Elon Musk maybe-coup forced us to wonder if we are, in fact, living in apocalyptic times, speculation about the end of the world and its aftermath pervaded television, film, literature, philosophy, and critical theory. In this class we draw these works into conversation with political theories of the “state of nature” and “state of exception” to better understand the political possibilities that are opened and foreclosed in times of crisis. Which aspects of politics will endure the ravages of fire or pestilence? What new political realities might emerge on ground cleared by disaster? What does it say about contemporary politics and culture that we are so eager to consume stories of states falling and bands of survivors scraping together a nasty, brutish and short existence? And how will the tumults unfolding today change how we respond to and deploy these narratives? Class will be driven primarily by discussion, typically introduced by a brief lecture.