it’s from an essay reprinted in this excellent collection on zombies 🧟‍♂️

thinking of making a donation so they can afford to update

Three decades later, Monster Theory has never been out of print.

Shortly after I completed my dissertation, serving in a three year part position with a clock ticking, I invited a group of scholars to think together about monsters and perhaps imagine a discipline that might be labeled “Monster Studies.” The book that resulted was called Monster Theory.

But monsters also taught me how to be stubborn, to keep circling back, to challenge epistemological limits in the hope of fostering less tightly sealed communities.

But early in my scholarly career it seemed like the only space to which the monster would not accompany me was to secure employment. I was working on a subject that struck many academics as deeply unserious, unworthy of sustained regard.

The monster offers a convergence point and transport device to think creatively and capaciously across time, language, genre, culture. Why not take it seriously?

Fun fact about the cover of Monster Theory: I did not realize there was a monster's head embedded within the green and blue swathe until I saw the cover projected behind me at the recent @ucscmonsters.bsky.social conference. The book is almost 30 years old and yes I just realized.

I mean, I did laugh heartily at it.

😂

Wow.

Thank you!