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Inversions of Power and Paradox: Studying Monstrosity
This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2012.
This volume contains original essays presented at the eighth annual "Monsters and the Monstrous" conference held at Oxford University, September 2010. The essays, written by scholars from many different disciplines around the world, deeply explore a wide range of concerns, especially topics that theorize, problematize, and historicize monstrosity. The variety of approaches to the monstrous prompts careful examination of conventional assumptions about monstrosity, raising questions that are difficult, necessary, and profound.
Like all of the Monsters and the Monstrous gatherings, the essays in this collection ponder such perennial questions as: Does evil exist? How do we define it? In what ways might our definition reflect the social, political, economic, and cultural milieu? Is there any aspect of evil, monsters, or the monstrous that is not socially constructed, that is to say, essential and enduring?
We know what does endure: our fascination with monsters and the monstrous, in their many forms, representations, and imaginings. We are preoccupied by monstrosity precisely because of the ways in which we ourselves can become monstrous. Marshall McLuhan once quipped: "the story of modern America begins with the discovery of the white man by the Indians." In many regards, McLuhan's quip reminds us of the dangers (and excitement) of studying monstrosity: the power and paradox of inversion. When we consider the phenomenon of monstrosity and invert our terms, we must take seriously the idea that the virgin may be more monstrous than the sexual subject, the pure more monstrous than the soiled, and sanity is more monstrous than genius.
This volume contains original essays presented at the eighth annual "Monsters and the Monstrous" conference held at Oxford University, September 2010. The essays, written by scholars from many different disciplines around the world, deeply explore a wide range of concerns, especially topics that theorize, problematize, and historicize monstrosity. The variety of approaches to the monstrous prompts careful examination of conventional assumptions about monstrosity, raising questions that are difficult, necessary, and profound.
Like all of the Monsters and the Monstrous gatherings, the essays in this collection ponder such perennial questions as: Does evil exist? How do we define it? In what ways might our definition reflect the social, political, economic, and cultural milieu? Is there any aspect of evil, monsters, or the monstrous that is not socially constructed, that is to say, essential and enduring?
We know what does endure: our fascination with monsters and the monstrous, in their many forms, representations, and imaginings. We are preoccupied by monstrosity precisely because of the ways in which we ourselves can become monstrous. Marshall McLuhan once quipped: "the story of modern America begins with the discovery of the white man by the Indians." In many regards, McLuhan's quip reminds us of the dangers (and excitement) of studying monstrosity: the power and paradox of inversion. When we consider the phenomenon of monstrosity and invert our terms, we must take seriously the idea that the virgin may be more monstrous than the sexual subject, the pure more monstrous than the soiled, and sanity is more monstrous than genius.
Elizabeth Nelson is core faculty and director of the Dissertation Office at Pacifica Graduate Institute in California. She teaches courses in research, dissertation development, and somatics to doctoral students in depth psychology. Her own research interests include the mythological representations of the feminine, ancient and contemporary gender relations, and the shadow, evil, and the monstrous.
Jonathan A. Allan is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. His dissertation, “The First Time and the Mourning After: A Study of Love, Loss, and Virginity,” considers the question of “the first time” and how we understand and experience it. His research interests include: flirting, kissing, romance, and virginity. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has funded his research.
Jonathan A. Allan is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto. His dissertation, “The First Time and the Mourning After: A Study of Love, Loss, and Virginity,” considers the question of “the first time” and how we understand and experience it. His research interests include: flirting, kissing, romance, and virginity. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has funded his research.