"The Monstrous Imagination"

FYSEMR 68G Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This seminar is a study of monsters and “deviants” in Western culture from Biblical times to the present day. Students will endeavor to answer, collectively and individually, some basic questions: How does the idea of the monster both shun and affirm difference? How is the monster a product of systems of belief and cultural values? In what ways do monsters represent sexuality, politics, religion, and power? An array of exotic and marginal figures will form the focus of our study, including (but not limited to) bizarre inhabitants of the edges of ancient geography, souls in the netherworld, vampires, werewolves, witches, and cannibals.

Prior to contemporary times, monsters were serious business and were studied by influential scientists, theologians, physicians, and a wide range of writers of fiction. From early accounts in classical antiquity and the Middle Ages to familiar, modern monsters, we will accompany the course of monstrous imaginings and how the process of monstrification is a constant in the cultures and societies. Throughout the seminar, we will consider how the dynamics of fear, loathing, attraction, revulsion, the grotesque, recognition and alienation all form the basis of the monster-making mentality.

NOTE: The seminar will include visits to the Peabody Museum of Natural History and the Houghton Library, which houses rare books and manuscripts. There will be no cost to students.