Beauty and Monstrosity in Art and Culture Chara Kokkiou 9781032355825

This edited volume takes a new look at an old question: what is the relationship between beauty and monstrosity? How has the notion of beauty transformed through the years and how does it coincide with monstrous ontologies? Contributors offer an interdisciplinary approach to how these two concepts are interlinked and emphasize the ways the beautiful and the monstrous pervade human experience.

The two notions are explored through the axis of human transformation, focusing on body, identity and gender, while questioning both how humans transform their body and space as well as how humans themselves are gradually transformed in different contexts. The pandemic, gender crisis, moral crisis, sociocultural instability, and environmental issues have redefined beauty and the relationship we have with it. Exploring these concepts through the lens of human transformation can yield valuable insights into what it means to be human in a world of constant change.

The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, archaeology, philosophy, architecture, and cultural studies.

Chara Kokkiou is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Tulane University, Department of Philosophy, with interdisciplinary academic interests in ancient philosophy, bioethics, and classics and a primary research focus on compassion.

Angeliki Malakasioti is Assistant Professor in the Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University, with artistic and research activity in the fields of digital space and culture, audiovisual representations, new technologies and creative methodologies.