Call for Papers - Journal of Folklore and Education Issue on Monsters

[ISCLR Secretary]

Greetings ISCLR Friends,

See attached CFP, shared on behalf of David Puglia and Andrea Kitta:

The 2026 Journal of Folklore and Education seeks submissions that recognize monsters, cryptids, and the legendary beings of our family stories and community narratives as powerful communicative tools in the classroom and beyond. The exploration of monstrosity can serve as a medium that helps us to talk about topics that can be difficult to address in other ways. Bringing together the perspectives and experiences of educators who take monsters seriously as “meaning-making machines” (Judith Halberstam, Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Durham: Duke University Press, 1995), the aim of this special issue is to share insights into how individuals and communities use legendary creatures as opportunities for playfulness and creativity, as well as to grapple with cultural fears and anxieties surrounding, among other subjects, gender, sexuality, race, the environment, technology, and the body. We also seek to shed light on monstrosity as a mode of empowerment, particularly for marginalized groups. Considering the role that monsters play in informal modes of education within a diverse range of communities, this issue will provide models for thinking about how educators both inside and outside the classroom might engage with these expressions of folklife in their pedagogy.

We seek submissions that present case studies, programs, lesson plans, teaching modules, and research based in education through monster and legendary creature exploration. Examples might include:

• Stories and/or examples of diverse teaching approaches in classroom settings and beyond, in which monsters, cryptids, and legendary creatures serve as an educational tool
• Lesson plans and/or curricula that involve education through monsters, cryptids, or their related creatures–from the whimsical to the terrible
• Interdisciplinary approaches to monstrosity as a communicative tool to explore complex information through education, such as diverse art forms, narratives, movies, TV shows, podcasts, memes, TikToks, and other media

We want submissions from educators, artists, folklorists, monster theorists, monster researchers, and monster enthusiasts alike.

Our audiences include:

• Educators in diverse settings across subject areas
• K-12 teachers and educators working in higher education
• Community educators working in a range of contexts, including but not limited to libraries, youth groups, arts councils, museums, and media
• Students and community members who view monsters as a gateway for the exploration of complex topics

Questions you might consider to inspire a submission include:

• How do educators (both academic and community-centered) engage with the concepts of “monstrosity” and “monsterization” in their work, and to what ends?
• How do the meanings associated with specific monsters, cryptids, or legendary beings change across time and space? To what extent do the meanings stay consistent? How do educators make sense of this continuity and change in their work? Examples might include La Llorona, Pokémon, Loup-garou in Louisiana, cryptids like Mothman in West Virginia, or the Jackalope in the Western region, and so forth.
• How do explorations of monsters provide vibrant opportunities for students to learn about complex subjects, including (but certainly not limited to) history, race, gender, sexuality, mental health, disability, neurodiversity, the environment, technology, and the body?
• Why do we (both teachers and students) find monsters appealing? Why do people joke about dating monsters and being friends with monsters?
• How have certain monsters become symbols for marginalized groups?
• How do educators use monsters and monstrosity as entry points into potentially difficult topics and conversations?
• How do monsters make conversations about mental health and mental health resources accessible to marginalized communities, serving as educational tools for those who may not have access to more formal forms of education?
• How does pedagogical engagement with monsters, cryptids, and other legendary creatures deepen communication for individuals and/or communities both inside and outside the classroom?
• How can the methodological and theoretical tools of folklore studies help educators engage productively with monsters and monstrosity in their pedagogy?
• What specific assignments and activities do educators use to encourage reflection on what monsters, cryptids, and other legendary creatures can help us learn about ourselves (fears, anxieties, coping strategies, etc.)? How do educators assess student learning for these assignments and activities?
• What challenges do educators face in taking monsters seriously?

Read more here: https://jfepublications.org/for-authors/call-for-submissions/

Virginia Siegel (she/her/hers)

Secretary, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research

Professor of Practice, University of Arkansas Libraries

Phone: 479-575-7115 (voice)

Email: secr...@contemporarylegend.org or vdsi...@uark.edu

Former address: isclr.s...@gmail.com (emails are forwarded)

Web: contemporarylegend.org

Contemporary Legend Publication Update