Humans a monstrous history / Surekha Davies.

Author/creator Davies, Surekha, 1974- author.
Format Book
PublicationOakland, California : University of California Press, [2025]
Copyright Date©2025
Descriptionxiii, 320 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Subjects

Contents Introduction -- On the ecology of monsters -- Human or animal? -- Race-nations -- Race-nations II -- Gender, sex, and monstrous births -- Monstrous performance and display -- Gods, magic, and the supernatural -- Machines -- Extraterrestrials -- Monstrofuturism -- Epilogue.
Abstract "Why do humans make monsters, and what do monsters tell us about humanity? Monsters are central to how we think about the human condition. Join award-winning historian of science Dr. Surekha Davies as she reveals how people have defined the human in relation to everything from apes to zombies, and how they invented race, gender, and nations along the way. With rich, evocative storytelling that braids together ancient gods and generative AI, Frankenstein's monster and ET, Humans: A Monstrous History shows how monster-making is about control: it defines who gets to count as normal. In an age when corporations increasingly see people as obstacles to profits, this book traces the long, volatile history of monster-making to chart a better path for the future. The result is a profound, effervescent, empowering retelling of the history of the world for anyone who wants to reverse rising inequality and polarization. This is not a history of monsters, but a history through monsters"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Issued in other formOnline version: Davies, Surekha, 1974- Humans Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2025] 9780520388116
LCCN 2024021626
ISBN9780520388093 hardcover
ISBN0520388097 hardcover
ISBNelectronic book

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks GR825 .D38 2025 ✔ Available Place Hold