Kzoo Here I Come

by J J Cohen

As soon as the Tiny Shriner finishes packing his collection of thirty-three miniature plastic fezzes, I am on my way. This year -- for the first time -- I am taking graduate students with me. We'll fly to Detroit together, and then drive the rest of the way to the Zoo.

By the way, did I mention that Monster Theory: Reading Culture turns thirteen this year? They grow up so quickly, those "Seven Theses." MEARCSTAPA has even put together a panel to mark the occasion:

"Monster Culture (Seven Theses)": A Roundtable
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's now paradigmatic manifesto on the importance of studying monsters and the monstrous, both generally in all time periods and cultures as well as in strictly medieval contexts, has influenced and inspired countless students exposed to his text in undergraduate courses, and likewise a great many working scholars and the studies they have produced since its publication in 1996. As an inaugural event for MEARCSTAPA, we seek in this roundtable to re-familiarize ourselves with the critical issues of the text, but also to evaluate, reconsider, and extend these theses for future consideration and deployment in subsequent studies. Founding members of MEARCSTAPA will share their interpretations and experiences of the text in research and teaching.

Session #366: Monster Culture: Seven Theses (Roundtable)
Friday, May 8th @ 3:30 pm [Bernhard 211]
Monsters: The Experimental Association for the Research of Cryptozoology through Scholarly Theory and Practical Application (MEARCSTAPA), Sponsor
Asa Simon Mittman (California State University-Chico), Organizer
Larissa Tracy (Longwood University), Presider

• Mary Kate Hurley (Columbia University)
• Karma de Gruy (Emory University)
• Stuart Kane (Stonehill College)
• Jeff Massey (Molloy College)
• Derek Newman-Stille (Trent University)
• Jeffrey Jerome Cohen (George Washington University)

See you there!