Introduction : monsters and change

Yasmine Musharbash, Geir Henning Presterudstuen

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

Abstract

This volume demonstrates how taking the as-if seriously means seeing monsters as beings with the ability to act in the world and as beings who respond to social change and transformation in interesting ways, in ways that tell us important things about the world and us in it. This introductory chapter contours key aspects of the difference between monsters as metaphors and monsters as agents who nonetheless are “meaning machines.” We begin this work by (1) detailing more exactly the possibilities and pitfalls of employing the term “monster” in the context of anthropology and (2) tying the monster more closely to “time.” In tandem, these sections provide the springboard for the main contribution we make, presenting an analytical overview of different ways in which monsters relate to change. Specifically, we detail change through the following processes: emergence, adaptation, appropriation, amalgamation, extinction, and succession. Throughout, we sketch the different monsters to be encountered in this volume as well as the various approaches that contributors take to analyzing their meanings. We conclude with a brief overview of how the analytical roads in this introduction crisscross the ensuing chapters in different directions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMonster Anthropology: Ethnographic Explorations of Transforming Social Worlds Through Monsters
EditorsYasmine Musharbash, Geir-Henning Presterudstuen
Place of PublicationU.K.
PublisherBloomsbury Academic
Pages1-27
Number of pages27
ISBN (Electronic)9781350096271
ISBN (Print)9781350096257
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • monsters
  • social change

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