Our Mission

The UC Santa Cruz Center for Monster Studies is a group of artists and scholars dedicated to the investigation of monsters and how they are defined throughout history and culture. The only institution of its kind in the world, the interdisciplinary Center is a growing hub for research, creative work, and teaching that posits monsters as a unique site for analyzing geopolitics, popular culture, scientific discovery, technology, and understandings of the human. Monsters — and the media in which they prowl — reveal our deepest fears and greatest hopes. They are mirrors that allow us to confront our own biases, and to develop the empathy we need to combat them.

We will present our findings through:

• An annual UCSC Festival of Monsters, a three-day celebration that will bring together artists and scholars of the monstrous

• The Show Where We Talk About Monsters, a podcast dedicated to monsters in performance

• The American Monsters Speaker Series, a quarterly speakers series and cocktail hour