We have often lamented the brusque treatment the Differently Animated receive from today’s scientists and scholars here at the ZRC Blog. It seems like Zombies exist only to be exploited by the ivory tower, only discussed in terms of eradication and control, not reason and understanding. Much as the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ is used to promote disaster relief, the alleged Zombie ‘problem’ or ‘threat’ is used in an attempt to interest the public in medicine and biology – not the Undead per se.

This is a sad state of affairs, and runs counter to logic. Zombies are a fascinating topic in and of their undead selves, not merely a sugar coating for someone else’s topic of discussion.

Perhaps we’re not the only ones to think so.

ZombieLab explores the science of consciousness after a zombie outbreak. How can we know if zombies are conscious of their actions? What do you need to understand to respond to the zombie threat?

Our ‘outbreak’ starts at one of the Museum’s popular Lates events on 30 January. Across the following weekend, an isolated zone in the Museum will become the ZombieLab. It will feature interactive live games, mass experiments, a series of short talks and a zombie trial. Explore consciousness science and the implications of a zombie attack!

Now I know what you’re thinking; there it is again, the ‘Zombie threat’ language. And indeed this is disturbing! But read on a bit and you’ll see that there’s more than a bit of nuance added to this special festival at The Science Museum:

Trial (Serious Business)

Are zombies accountable for their actions? Should zombie-killers be imprisoned, not celebrated? The Community Jury Initiative needs you to decide in two critical test cases.

Pro-Zombie Action Group (Stoke Newington International Airport)

Zombies are people too! Pro-zombie activists will be recruiting visitors to stand up for zombie rights with banners, speeches and impromptu demonstrations.

Zombies will get their day in court! Ok, it’s not a formal, legal setting, but a Community Jury is a fine start! Reasoned advocates will present their cases! Logic and reason will have their say! Zombies will get to speak up, groaning as applicable, in a bold quest for understanding, assimilation and acceptance!

And then there’s Pro-Zombie picketing, of which, naturally, the ZRC is always in favor.

(We take the picketing right to the chief offenders at the ZRC)

And just look under the Talks section (which we admit is also a hotbed of Living Supremacist ideas):

Talks
Are zombies conscious?

How can we interrogate conscious experience?

ZombieLab is finally giving the Zombie Rights Movement a genuine open forum to debate issues of Zombies in society and of the Zombie individual’s rights and shared humanity. Certainly, there is room for improvement (not to mention fewer stereotyped experiences, like the ‘Zombies, Run!’ outing).

But in this instance, let’s not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good – ZombieLab represents a great leap, or quantum lurch if you like, forward, and the ZRC encourages all our UK readers and Zombie Allies to attend.

Especially the protest and the Community Jury events. Do us proud! Keep it peaceful and positive!

Directions to The Science Museum can be found here, and ZombieLab takes place starting this Wednesday, January the 30th, extending through the weekend.

Tags: Academia, Social Justice, Zombie Public Event

This entry was posted by John Sears on Monday, January 28th, 2013 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Zombie Media, ZRC News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.