Festival of Monsters: David Livingstone Smith Keynote 

David Livingstone Smith, author of Making Monsters: The Uncanny Power of Dehumanization, opens the 2025 Festival of Monsters with a free public keynote talk 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at the Museum of Art and History (705 Front Street). A philosophy professor at University of New England in Maine, Livingstone Smith writes about the ways in which we dehumanize one another — creating our own monsters through pogroms, genocide and massacres. He asks “How do some people come to believe that their enemies are monsters, and therefore easy to kill?” The Festival of Monsters is hosted by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Monster Studies.
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ADMISSION
– FREE and open to the public
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AUDIENCE ADVISORIES
– Mature themes and content
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FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
– Wed. Oct. 15, 5:30 p.m, Museum of Art & History (MAH): David Livingstone Smith Keynote
– Thurs. Oct. 16, 9:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m, UCSC Digital Arts Research Center (DARC): Conference Panels, Kim Lau keynote
– Fri. Oct. 17, 9:00 a.m.–6:30 p.m, UCSC Digital Arts Research Center (DARC): Conference Panels, Jeffery Jerome Cohen keynote
– Fri. Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m, DARC 108 (No longer at the UCSC Cowell Ranch Hay Barn): Monsters Ball
– Sat. Oct. 18, 11:00 a.m, Bookshop Santa Cruz: “Oh! The Horror” Writers Panel
– Sat. Oct. 18, 2:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m, Atlantis Fantasyworld: Cole Lemke, Horror Comic Artist
– Sat. Oct. 18, 6:00 p.m, Game Santa Cruz: “Blood on the Clocktower”
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The Festival of Monsters returns for a three-day academic conference with public performances, installations, readings, and more. Learn more about the Center for Monster Studies here.
This program is open to all members of the public consistent with state and federal law