We take monsters seriously
“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”
— Mary Shelley, Frankenstein,
or, the Modern Prometheus
Monsters play a role in the representation of some of the most challenging problems facing our world: matters of race and religion, social justice, and environmental threats. The Center for Monster Studies at UC Santa Cruz aims to explore the role of monsters in culture and humanities.
What are Yokai and how do they persist across centuries in Japan? UC Davis Professor Michael Dylan Foster, author of The Book of Yokai, will talk about kitsune, kappa and more at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 27, at UC Santa Cruz. How do we transmit, create and collect folklore to make sense of the world around us?
Michael Dylan Foster talks
Book of Yokai on May 27
Sharon Kim is the winner of the 2025 UC Santa Cruz Festival of Monsters Poster Contest. Her imaginative monster won out of more than 30 artworks by UC Santa Cruz Students to become the poster image for the 2025 Festival, taking place Oct. 15-18, 2025 in Santa Cruz, Calif. Congratulations to Sharon!