4 options
On monsters : an unnatural history of our worst fears / Stephen T. Asma.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Asma, Stephen T.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Monsters.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (xii, 351 pages) : illustrations
- Edition:
- 1st ed.
- Place of Publication:
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- Monsters. Real or imagined, literal or metaphorical, they have exerted a dread fascination on the human mind for many centuries. They attract and repel us, intrigue and terrify us, and in the process reveal something deeply important about the darker recesses of our collective psyche. Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. Asma begins with a letter from Alexander the Great in 326 B.C. detailing an encounter in India w
- Contents:
- Extraordinary beings
- Ancient monsters. Alexander fights monsters in India ; Monsters are nature's playthings ; Hermaphrodites and man-headed oxen ; Monstrous desire
- Medieval monsters : messages from God. Biblical monsters ; Do monsters have souls? ; The monster killer ; Possessing demons and witches
- Scientific monsters : the book of nature is riddled with typos. Natural history, freaks, and nondescripts ; The medicalization of monsters ; Darwin's mutants
- Inner monsters : the psychological aspects. The art of human vulnerability : angst and horror ; Criminal monsters : psychopathology, aggression, and the malignant heart ; Torturers, terrorists, and zombies : the products of monstrous societies ; Future monsters : robots, mutants, and posthuman cyborgs.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [285]-333) and index.
- Description based upon print version of record.
- Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.
- ISBN:
- 9786613058683
- 9780199745777
- 0199745773
- 9781283058681
- 1283058685
- 9780199714513
- 0199714517
- OCLC:
- 711101516
The Penn Libraries is committed to describing library materials using current, accurate, and responsible language. If you discover outdated or inaccurate language, please fill out this feedback form to report it and suggest alternative language.