Monsters play a role in the representation of some of the most challenging problems facing our world: matters of race and religion, social justice, and environmental threats. The Center for Monster Studies at UC Santa Cruz aims to explore the role of monsters in culture and humanities. Each year, the Center for Monster Studies presents the Festival of Monsters. Festival activities this year will feature public days on Wednesday, October 14th and Saturday, October 17th and an academic conference October 14-18, hosted a UC Santa Cruz. Please visit www.monsterstudies.ucsc.edu for the full list of festival activities.