New Directions in the Study of Religion, Monsters, and the Monstrous Seminar
For the fourth year of the New Directions in the Study of Religions, Monsters, and the Monstrous, we are interested in monsters and the human. When, how, and why are other people and the gods “monstrified?” How does racism intersect with the discourse of the monstrous? Conversely, when how, and why are monsters humanized?
As part of these conversations, we’re especially interested in papers pertaining to the intersection of monsters and race. How does race become the site of monstrizing? Can monsters help transcend racial categories or do they reinforce them? Applicants may want to consider Karen and Barbara Field’s concept of “racecraft”—the construction of “race” through the practice of racism—as a lens to think about monstrizing. Is it appropriate to speak of monstercraft?
Papers outside these topics are also welcome and will be considered for a potential second panel themed more generally on monsters. As always, papers from minority scholars and scholars studying Asian, African, or indigenous American and Australian traditions are especially encouraged.
The Mission of the New Directions in the Study of Religion, Monsters, and the Monstrous Five-Year Seminar is to facilitate dialogue between different areas and methodologies within religious studies to arrive at a better theory of the intersection of religion, monsters, and the monstrous. Due to the diverse nature of our topic, we encourage proposals from any tradition or theoretical perspective. Each year of the seminar will focus on a different theoretical problem as follows:
Year One –– Taxonomy. The first task of the seminar will be to explore the taxonomy of “monsters” as a second-order category. What defines a “monster” and what are we talking about when we talk about monsters?
Year Two –– Theodicy: What role do monsters serve in explaining misfortune? Are monsters a source of injustice or do they create justice as agents of punishment?
Year Three –– Cosmology: How do monsters function to map out reality, including time and space?
Year Four –– Monstrification and humanization: When, how, and why are other people and their gods “monstrified?” How does racism intersect with the discourse of the monstrous? Conversely, when, how, and why are monsters humanized?
Year Five –– Phenomenology: How should we interpret narratives of encounters with fantastic beings? To what extent are reductionist readings of these narratives appropriate and helpful? Are there viable approaches beyond reductionism?
At the conclusion of the seminar, our findings will be published as an edited volume or otherwise disseminated to the scholarly community.
| Steering Member | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric D. Mortensen, Guilford College | ericdmort@yahoo.com | - | View |
| Michael Heyes, Lycoming College | heyes@lycoming.edu | - | View |
| Joseph Laycock | joe.laycock@gmail.com | - | View |