The hybrid and the monster are ideal symbols of feminist resistance. In contrast to modern ideas of ‘perfection’, they are constantly becoming: never finite or complete. Endlessly transforming and changing, they confront society with the impossible, challenging the restrictions imposed by Capitalism, Patriarchy and Colonialism. The monster-hybrid-body is a thriving “mess” of disparate parts, inter-species and intersex, it ecstatically grinds and writhes against itself and its surroundings, eradicating socio-politico-geo-biological boundaries with every swath of its furred tail, every multi-directional thrust of its many tentacled arms. As such, the monster offers an opportunity to confront a great unknown, a somewhat sacred experience of simultaneous horror and enchantment…

Jasmine Reimer’s lecture is rooted in a feminist understanding of transformation/transcendence, the hybrid body and the monster and how they relate to new ideas of the weird, eerie and sacred experience. She will discuss specific examples of divine feminist symbols and how they communicate transformation narratives, beginning with Neolithic goddess symbols and mythologies, the role of the Neolithic hybrid as a socio-cultural model, and how the hybrid has evolved into a contemporary monster. Jasmine will consider the contemporary monster as a way to discover a new and weird divine – or as Jasmine says, a way to “(re)monster” the world.

Students will be given the opportunity to engage with the presentation directly via discussion, via excerpts of key texts by feminist theorists, fiction and non-fiction authors and poets, in addition to listening to excerpts from interviews and/or podcasts on the topic.

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.