Hive and Horde: The Collective Organism in Myth and Popular Culture

date Tuesday, 28 January 2014 time 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

👤 Salvatore Bohrer 🏢 Project 4 Gallery

Past

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In recent years, the “hive” or “horde” has become a common trope in video games and films, coinciding with the phenomenal popularity of the zombie genre and evident in many science-fiction imaginings of future civilizations, both friendly and unfriendly.

The striking commonalities between different representations of the collective organism can help us better understand contemporary trends in politics (encouraging or discouraging collectivization), new spirituality movements (promoting “wholeness,” “oneness,” and loss of self), and philosophy (where multiplicity and difference have been increasingly central topics).

As we trace the collective organism through its 20th-century representations to its precursors in ancient cultures, we will discuss how the ideological and historical correlations of the collective organism can influence our engagement with our lives, the world, and our own self-understanding.

Location

Project 4 Gallery
1353 U St. NW, Suite #302
Washington, DC 20009
Neighborhood: U Street

Past event