Monstrosity

The Human Monster in Visual Culture

Alexa Wright

$49.99

Paperback

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English

I.B. Tauris
30 May 2013

Theory of art

From the ‘Monster of Ravenna’ to the ‘Elephant Man’, Myra Hindley and Ted Bundy, the visualisation of ‘real’, human monsters has always played a part in how society sees itself. But what is the function of a monster? Why do we need to embody and represent what is monstrous? This book investigates the appearance of the human monster in Western culture, both historically and in our contemporary society. It argues that images of real (rather than fictional) human monsters help us both to identify and to interrogate what constitutes normality; we construct what is acceptable in humanity by depicting what is not quite acceptable. By exploring theories and examples of abnormality, freakishness, madness, otherness and identification, Alexa Wright demonstrates how monstrosity and the monster are social and cultural constructs. However, it soon becomes clear that the social function of the monster – however altered a form it takes – remains constant; it is societal self-defence allowing us to keep perceived monstrosity at a distance.

Through engaging with the work of Michel Foucault, Julia Kristeva and Canguilhem (to name but a few) Wright scrutinises and critiques the history of a mode of thinking. She reassesses and explodes conventional concepts of identity, obscuring the boundaries between what is ‘normal’ and what is not.

By: Alexa Wright
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 138mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 391g
ISBN: 9781780763361
ISBN 10: 1780763360
Pages: 226
Publication Date: 30 May 2013
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Alexa Wright is Reader in Visual Culture at the University of Westminster. She is also a practicing artist who works with video, sound and interactive digital media

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Monstrosity

The Human Monster in Visual Culture

Alexa Wright

$49.99

Paperback

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