Join Weird Fictions Research Group for the first Weird Medicine meeting this semester.

Joanna Kaniewska

Weird Halloween: Normal Again? The Portrayal of Mental Health(Care) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Monday, October 30, 2023
 4.45PM

You can get 3 OZN points for participating in this event.

Where?

Dobra 55, room 1.271 
(the building features some mobility accommodations: ramp and lift)

Register at: jkaniewska1991@gmail.com
Registration deadline: October 29 (Sunday), 2023 10PM
Limit: 15 people

Snacks and drinks: are welcome!
Cosplays: are very welcome! We especially encourage you to embrace the fashion of the early 2000s, but any spooky outfit will be appropriate, too!

FACEBOOK EVENT

What?

The Weird Fiction Research Group would like to invite you to a Halloween workshop! Together, we will watch and discuss an episode of the classic 90s TV show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer. In this episode, titled “Normal Again,” Buffy suddenly wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, without her Vampire Slayer powers… And everyone around her claims her life in Sunnydale was a delusion. What happened? Was her journey all an illusion? Or is there some other explanation of her current state?

We hope that “Normal Again” will spark an exciting discussion about the portrayal of mental illnesses and mental health institutions in this episode, as well as in other texts of American pop culture. We will talk about spooky psychiatrists, creepy nurses, toxic stereotypes, and many other things!

NOTE: You DO NOT have to know Buffy The Vampire Slayer in order to join the workshop! The screening part will be preceded by a very short introduction to the characters and the general lore of the show, so you won’t feel confused. Also, the episode works reasonably well as a stand alone contact with the franchise.

Who?

Asia Kaniewska is a translator and a PhD Student at the Doctoral School of Humanities of the University of Warsaw, Poland. Her current research focuses on the literature of American witches. Her academic interests include popular music, Japanese and American popular culture, science fiction, and weird studies. Sometimes, she writes about them on her blog “dziewiętnaście czwartych” (“nineteen fourths”) or talks about them in her radio show “dancing in dystopia” on Radio Kapitał.

Year 2024/2025

February 18: Solidarity in Struggle – A Conversation with Sarah Schulman

February 13, 2025

We invite you to a meeting with the author of “The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity,” Sarah Schulman, hosted by MA student at the ASC Julia Wajdziak. Together, we will look at the role of solidarity in contemporary activism, the challenges it faces, and the opportunities it creates for transnational alliances.

News

Office hours of Dr. Gajda-Łaszewska during the exam session

January 28, 2025

Office hours during the exam session: Thursday, 30 January 2025, 12:30-14:00; Friday, 07 February 2025, 10:30-12:00. Online office hours remain the same.  No office hours in the week of 10-15 February 2025.

News

Dołącz do Akademii Młodych Polskich Innowatorów i wygraj płatny staż!

January 23, 2025

Chcesz wziąć udział w stażu w amerykańskiej firmie? Masz 18–26 lat? Interesujesz się przedsiębiorczością, mediami lub sprawami publicznymi? Chcesz zdobyć wiedzę i doświadczenie od ekspertów z USA i Polski, a także pracować nad innowacyjnym projektem, który odpowie na aktualne wyzwania gospodarcze i społeczne dla Polski? Jesteś z Warszawy lub jesteś gotowy/a dojeżdżać do stolicy na warsztaty i staż? Jeżeli na powyższe pytania odpowiedź brzmi TAK!, to dołącz do programu „Pathfinders of Tomorrow: Akademia Młodych Polskich Innowatorów”, który łączy młodych liderów z praktykami, by wspólnie tworzyć nowatorskie rozwiązania.

Year 2024/2025

January 23: „I’m weird. I’m a weirdo.” The Allure of Unhinged Teen Television Drama Series Riverdale (2017-2023)

January 23, 2025

Join us for the second Weird TV lecture in 2025! Teen TV programming by The CW Television Network in the last 20 years has been a wildly successful blend of soap opera, generational saga, crime, the paranormal, and erotica. This paper argues that the drama series Riverdale (2017-2023) is the last show of this kind due to its week-to-week broadcasting format, as well as its convoluted, absurd, weird, and addictive storytelling. In the span of 6 years and 7 seasons, Riverdale explored various themes and topics: serial killers, occultism, time traveling, parallel universes, superpowers, folk tales, witchcraft, and many, many more. On a purely visual level, the show does take its inspiration from the grand tradition of horror/thriller genre storytelling, BUT is it camp, pastiche, or pure kitsch? This paper attempts to situate Riverdale within a broader context of both cult cinema/TV, and teen film studies. Finally, Riverdale’s weirdness and ridiculousness would be nothing without the show’s internet discourse, fandom, and critical reception, which are part of this analysis.

Year 2024/2025

January 21: “Women Against the Law” – Screening and Discussion of Estado de Proibição!

January 21, 2025

Join us for our first 2025 event, “Women Against the Law” – Screening and discussion of Estado de Proibição!” The screening and discussion will be conducted by doctoral student Thany Sacnhes. Estado de Proibição shares the stories of women who break the law to care for their children and of those who have lost their children to state violence connected to drug prohibition. The film, created by Plataforma Brasileira de Política de Drogas in collaboration with Panamá Filmes and supported by the Open Society Foundations, was filmed in São Paulo, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro. It aims to raise public awareness of the consequences of drug prohibition, which affect both drug users and non-users. The documentary highlights the intersections between the social and therapeutic use of drugs and examines how prohibitionist policies lead to the criminalization of communities and increased police violence.