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Daryl Dixon

Norman Reedus

The Walking Dead

Why yes, I am a fan! I love this show. It's so dynamic and well written. I find it hard to not tune in each week when there are new episodes. This show and it's characters is so complex in the way it presents what life would be like in the event of a zombie outbreak. Each individual story has weight and the characters make the show one of the best. 

I think me like every other person in the fan base loves Daryl Dixon. Norman Reedus plays the "redneck" with a crossbow. I think the appeal of his character is his strength. He comes across as someone who's got it together despite what is happening around him. He became a key member of the group early on and remains that way today. Tho a bit of a loner and doesn't talk much he sticks out in the show as one of the more prominant characters.

The Walking Dead

Society, Science, Survival: Lessons from AMC's The Walking Dead

Module 1:

 Foundation of Survival 

Module 2:

 Public Health and Infectious Diseases

What you'll learn:

In The Walking Dead, there is a tragic absence of any semblance of public health agencies, expertise, or communications for the surviving members of society. In this second module, we will learn just how vital those services are to a functioning society and we will introduce the major concepts and principles of public health.

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. What is the role of the CDC (the Centers for Disease Control) and other public health agencies in the functioning of society?

  2. How have these agencies been present or not present inThe Walking Dead?Do people choose their own health?

  3. How do the seven dimensions of health impact a person’s health? Can the characters in the show choose their own health?

  4. Why or why not?What examples from history can we draw upon to understand the causation and spread of infectious diseases?

  5. How do these examples parallel the spread of the zombie infection in the show?

Module 3:

 Deconstructing Society

Module 4:

Social Identity

Module 5:

 Modeling a Zombie Outbreak

Module 6:

 Thriving on a Post-Apocalyptic Diet

Module 7:

 New Materials and The Science of Damage Control

Module 8:

 The Science of Hope

What you'll learn:

The twin notions of social roles and social identity govern our perceptions and interactions in social settings. They influence how we see others and how we see ourselves. We often rely on stereotypes for reasons of efficiency so that we can easily organize our social world.  But when we overuse them, we risk making inaccurate conclusions about others. Through this fourth module, we will explore how these automatic responses come to dominate our reactions, especially when we are threatened or stressed as the characters often are in The Walking Dead  

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. How are social roles defined? By ourselves? By others? How are they defined in The Walking Dead?

  2. In what ways do threat and uncertainty influence our definitions of these roles? How are the roles of the characters on the show reflections of the threat and uncertainty they face?

  3. What are the positive and negative aspects of stereotyping? How have the characters in the show stereotyped one another? Does this impact their chances for survival?

  4. As we mature, are we willing and able to suspend judgment and see individuals as unique? Have any of the characters in the show demonstrated this willingness and ability? In what ways?

What you'll learn:

Human beings cannot live in permanent isolation.  Our need for connection with others and our mutual dependence necessitates cooperation and structure. But what happens when the world as we know it ends? Then what? This third module will discuss six distinct models of society and how they apply to the various communities within The Walking Dead, from the camp in the early seasons to the prison in the most current season.

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. How do we define society, particularly in an emerging world such as The Walking Dead?

  2. What role does government play in emerging societies? How has it affected the characters in the show living in Woodbury? In the prison? Are you more likely to survive if you belong to a group with some sort of organized hierarchical structure?

  3. Why do leaders emerge in societies? How have they emerged in the show? Do they improve the chances of survival for their followers? What role does trust play in leadership, especially as seen in the show?

  4. What is our responsibility to the collective? Should the characters in the show be responsible for more than just themselves? Why or why not?

What you'll learn:

In The Walking Dead, the world is faced with a zombie disease epidemic.  In this fifth module, we will explore how mathematics can be used to help study the dynamics of disease spread within a population. Using the walker world as an example, we will begin by dividing the population into different groups (Human, Zombie/Walker, and Permanently Dead) and then use the interactions among these groups to formulate our mathematical model. 

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  • How can we predict future populations? How rapidly do you think the zombie disease will spread in the show?

  • How can we study the efficacy of various disease interventions, such as vaccinations, quarantine, cures, etc.? How do government agencies determine the most effective interventions to stem a disease epidemic?  Can we learn anything from these examples to curtail the rapid spread of the zombie infection in The Walking Dead?

  • How can the characters in the show evaluate various methods for eliminating the zombie disease altogether? What data would they need to collect?

 

What you'll learn:

Food and nutrition take a back seat to killing zombies in The Walking Dead. Yet, we know that in the case of a true disaster, food and water would be essential for survival and would occupy our daily activities.  In this sixth module, we will explore healthy nutrition versus malnutrition, specifically in the wake of a major disaster, as well as discuss how people’s behaviors are affected by their nutritional state.

 

Questions that will be covered include:

 

  1. What are the nutritional risk factors associated with the development of diseases? Are the characters in The Walking Dead exposing themselves to other deadly diseases based on the diets they must maintain in a post-apocalyptic environment such as that depicted on the show?

  2. Does a vegetarian diet, especially as witnessed in the show, provide a true health advantage for the survivors? Or a disadvantage? Why or why not?

  3. How can nutrition improve our immune system?  Our mental health? Does this affect the chances of survival of the characters on the show?

What you'll learn:

Throughout The Walking Dead, survivors are faced with two basic issues of physics: protecting against damage and causing damage. How realistic is the depiction of the causes of damage and protection in television, movies, and video games? Asking this question allows us to explore in this seventh module some of the most fundamental ideas in the description of the physical world: energy, momentum, and forces. 

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. How can we describe materials using a scientific understanding of strength and elasticity? How does this impact the characters’ ability to kill zombies and protect themselves in The Walking Dead?

  2. How can we employ a scientific understanding of the relationship and interactions between objects, from weapons to flight, to increase our chances of survival in the world depicted in the show?

  3. In a post-apocalyptic world, how is energy generated? How can left-over, foraged, and even newly generated materials be used to fuel the emerging society in the show?

  4. What role do the scientific concepts of precision and accuracy play in protecting oneself from damage and inflicting damage on others? How can the characters use this to their advantage on the show?

What you'll learn:

Studies have shown that people who remain positive in the face of illness and trauma have better outcomes than those who don’t. In The Walking Dead, we plainly observe signs of stress, anger, anxiety, sleeplessness and other stressors associated with catastrophic situations. But is there evidence of hope? Optimism?

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. What is stress? What are stressors? What are the three stages of GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome)?

  2. What occurs in the body during and after stress? What types of behavior do we typically display during and after highly stressful situations, especially interpersonal behavior? How do the characters manifest stress on The Walking Dead?

  3. How can we best manage stress in disaster situations? What is the long-term effect of always sleeping with one eye open? Do you think certain characters are more likely to survive than others based on their stress management abilities? Why or why not?

  4. What role do hope and optimism play in managing stress? How can we use coping and relaxation techniques to manage stress? How do these techniques specifically apply to disaster situations such as those depicted by the show?

The Ones We've lost......Gone But Not Forgotten

To those who don't know me i am a huge fan of AMC's The Walking Dead. I've watched every episode since the premier. I continue to tune in to new episodes as they air. I had seen a lot of posts around facebook that advertised a course being put n by the UCIrvine.  I looked into it and found it was not only free but was based on the show The Walking Dead. So you have to know i enrolled at once. I still don't know why other fans of the show i know didn't but i did. So the course started shortly after the Premier of season 4. It was broken up into Modules (There was 8) and each would focus on a different aspect of life during a zombie apocolypse using The Walking dead as an example of these aspects. What made this great was the clips they used from the show which would give a demonstration or example of how that aspect we learned about is applied to The Walking Dead. 

 

I had started doing weekly and sometimes bi-weekly reviews on the courses we were taking but have since removed them and decided to put them all here. Below you will see each badge i earned for courses completed..As well as my course certficate for completing all 8 modules. Also with each module i have included the module overview from the site so you can see what we were learning. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

What you'll learn:

Abraham Maslow ushered in humanistic psychology when he studied the lives of healthy, accomplished, and creative people.  He believed that people are motivated internally and externally by their needs ranked from basic survival needs such as food, love, and respect, to higher order growth needs such as understanding what life is all about. This first module will use Maslow’s theory to analyze the behavior of the characters of The Walking Dead.

 

Questions that will be covered include:

  1. How do we decide what is important in our own lives?  How would we decide in a post-apocalyptic world as depicted in The Walking Dead?

  2. What happens when we are threatened with our very lives, as many of the characters are in show? 

  3. Do we move up or down levels in response to major events in our lives? Do the characters move up or down levels in the show? Why or why not?

  4. As we enter into the new season of the show, are the characters faced with new life experiences that lead them more towards the top of the hierarchy to self-actualization?   

After you complete all 8 modules and take all the tests which grant you your badges, you reach the end of the course. It was mentioned by others taking the course about some sort of certificate of completion that we might get. As we aren't being graded for this and it is purely optional to complete the tasks they weren't at first giving us one. Later on they added the badge system and as you see from my modules above i have earned all 8 of mine as well as my certificate of completion.

You've Completed The Course!

I am a current writer for the website Talking Walking Dead.  Check It Out!!!

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