Introduction: How We See and Use Monsters to Justify Human Re/Action

Or Are Monsters Real if We Make Them Real?

Abstract

This introduction to the special issue on Monsters and the Law for Culture Unbound breaks down both how the editors see monsters within human lives and stories, real and fanciful, and how the authors in this collection explore themes within monster studies as applied to law or legal cases and/or within legal studies using monster theory. Three major themes emerge as central to his collection: technology as monster, nature and culture as boundaries highlighted and permeated by monsters, and monsters in our authoritative and cultural heritage.