4th Global Conference
Monsters and the Monstrous: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil
Monday 18th September - Thursday 21st September 2006
Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom
Call for Papers
This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary conference seeks to investigate and explore the enduring influence and imagery of monsters and the monstrous on human culture throughout history. In particular, the project will have a dual focus with the intention of examining specific 'monsters' as well as assessing the role, function and consequences of persons, actions or events identified as 'monstrous'. The history and contemporary cultural influences of monsters and monstrous metaphors will also be examined.
Perspectives are sought from those engaged in the fields of literature, media studies, cultural studies, history, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, health and theology. Ideas are welcomed from those involved in academic study, fictional explorations, and applied areas (e.g. youth work, criminology and medicine).
Papers, reports, work-in-progress and workshops are invited on issues related to any of the following themes:
The "monster" through history
Civilization, monsters and the monstrous
Children, childhood, stories and monsters; monsters and parents
Comedy: funny monsters and/or making fun of monsters (e.g. Monsters Inc, the Addams Family)
Making monsters; monstrous births
Mutants and mutations
Technologies of the monstrous
Horror, fear and scare
Do monsters kill because they are monstrous or are they monstrous because they kill?
How critical to the definition of "monster" is death or the threat of death?
Human 'monsters' and 'monstrous' acts? e.g, perverts, paedophiles and serial killers
The monstrous and gender
Revolution and monsters; the monstrous and politics; enemies (political/social/military) and monsters
Iconography of the monstrous
The popularity of the modern monsters; the Mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein, Vampires
The monster in literature
The monstrous in popular culture: film, television, theatre, radio, print, internet. The monstrous and journalism
Religious depictions of the monstrous; the monstrous and the supernatural
Metaphors and the monstrous
The monstrous and war, war reportage / propaganda
Papers will also be accepted which deal solely with specific monsters.
Papers will be considered on any related theme. 300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday 2nd June 2006. If your paper is accepted for presentation at the conference, an 8 page draft paper should be submitted by Friday 1st September 2006.
300 word abstracts should be submitted to both the Organising Joint Chairs; abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, PDF or RTF formats.
Rob Fisher
Wickedness Net
Freeland, Oxfordshire
United Kingdom
E-Mail: monsters4@wickedness.net
Stephen Morris
Independent Scholar
New York, USA
E-Mail: smmorris58@yahoo.com
The conference is part of a larger series of ongoing conferences entitled At the Interface, and run as a project under the auspices of Wickedness.Net. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and exciting.
All papers accepted for and presented at the conference will be published as an ISBN eBook. Selected papers accepted for and presented at this conference will be published in a hard copy themed volume. Two ISBN eBooks and three themed volumes are available and/or in press from previous meetings of this project.
For further details about the project, please visit:
http://www.wickedness.net/Monsters/monsters.htm
For further details about the conference, please visit:
http://www.wickedness.net/Monsters/M4/cfp.html
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