Dharma of the Dead

With the increased popularity of zombies in recent years, scholars have considered why the undead have so captured the public imagination. This book argues that the zombie can be viewed as an object of meditation on death, a memento mori that makes the fact of mortality more approachable from what has been described as America’s “death-denying culture.” The existential crisis in zombie apocalyptic fiction brings to the fore the problem of humanity’s search for meaning in an increasingly global and secular world. Zombies are analyzed in the context of Buddhist thought, in contrast with social and religious critiques from other works.

Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Christopher M. Moreman is a professor and chair of the department of philosophy and religious studies at California State University, East Bay. He has published widely on topics relating to death, dying, and popular culture.

Christopher M. Moreman

Series Editor Kyle William Bishop

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 243
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, filmography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7249-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3296-4
Imprint: McFarland
Series: Contributions to Zombie Studies

Acknowledgments  vi
Introduction  1

Chapter One
The Haitian Origins of the Zombie  21

Chapter Two
The Evolution of the Cinematic Zombie  42

Chapter Three
Embodied Death  90

Chapter Four
Zombies and the Buddhist Meditation on Death  138

Chapter Notes  183
Bibliography  207
Filmography  225
Index  229