Bad Bunny’s “Baticano”

by | Aug 21, 2026

Why Teach “Baticano” as a Monster Text? Bad Bunny released “Baticano” on Halloween (October 31, 2023) as part of his album Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana. Directed by Stillz and featuring Steve Buscemi, the black-and-white video stages an overt gothic homage: Bad...

“Taking the Hand of the Monster”

by | Aug 21, 2026

We have to begin in media res. If I begin in the beginning—at one of the many beginnings—you might get the sense that this has all been figured out with one thing inevitably leading to the next, which is not the case. It’s Summer 2024 and I’m hosting a graduate-level...

Waste Not a Phantasmic Pedagogy

by | Aug 21, 2026

Monsters are bodies tumbled into bodies; the art of telling monstrosity requires stories tumbled into stories. (Swanson et al. 2017, M10)   Introduction In this short article I introduce a common piece of caregiver and children’s folklore in Japan, the...

From Whimsy to Shadow

by | Aug 16, 2026

  There is a moment that repeats itself whenever I use theatre to teach the Holocaust—whether in a classroom, a community setting, or a post-show conversation. Someone arrives prepared to talk about facts: dates, perpetrators, policies, and the scale of violence....

“Against life as we know it”

by | Aug 16, 2026

Werewolves can be seen as ableist portrayals of disability, as their monstrosity/disability is a punishment, something to fear, or fix. I, a multiply disabled person, have always been fascinated by monsters and the ways I see myself represented in their stories. Like...