Through the interdisciplinary nature of the Studies in Comparative Literatures and the Arts MA program at Brock University, Dr. Cristina Santos mentored our cohort to reach out to a wider academic community, and encouraged us to foster multi-perspectival approaches to our own research and various fields of study. Through her outstanding mentorship and guidance, Dr. Santos and the SCLA program provided us with opportunities to work with materials from varying disciplines and to subsequently prepare and present this research in a number of academic settings and platforms.

Aside from her duties as the director of the SCLA program, Dr. Santos also taught a course on Crossover-Literature in which one of the requirements included writing an abstract for a research paper, which she then encouraged us to submit to the 9th Global Conference on Monsters and the Monstrous (held September 10 to September 13, 2011 at Oxford University, UK). Through her guidance within the classroom and her continued mentorship beyond, Dr. Santos not only helped us cultivate the necessary skills to succeed in an academic career, but she also made possible the exciting and invaluable experience of presenting our original research at Oxford. This conference seemed a natural progression from our work in SCLA, as it encourages a wide range of scholars from varied academic and geographical backgrounds to come together and engage in stimulating conversation.

~~ Monica Dufault & Steven Rita-Procter ~~

9th Global Conference on Monsters and the Monstrous SCLA presenters:

Monica Dufault SCLA 2011
Nasty Old Things: The True Monsters of the Twilight Saga

Heidi Horvath
Bella and the Beast: A Transformative Tale

Sarah Rangaratnam SCLA 2010
The “Monstrous Widow” in Early 20th Century India

Steven Rita-Procter SCLA 2011
Monstrous Sexual Awakenings: Jacob Black and the Monstrosity of Male Pubescent Experience

Janice Zehentbauer SCLA 2007
Monstrous Births: Sires, Pregnancy, and Progeny in Angel