Sponsored by Dr. Hannah Haynes

Authors: Isabel Beauchamp, Tea Caravello, Kaiya Cocliff, Julia Conturso, Eleanor Gubbins, Evan Hines, Marko Iwasiwka, Chealsea Krutiak, Ethan Mosher, Jacqueline Moulton, Maxwell Murray, Han Santos, Chloe Smith, Victoria Tetreault, Jheneay Watkins, Olivia Zaleski, Skylah Zayas

How do we rationalize what we do not understand that which we fear, or that we cannot comprehend? What is the affective and psychosocial benefit of believing in the fridge, the occult, the hideous, the terrorizing? This Special Session will present the research and process of IDST360: Cryptids and Cyborgs’ podcast; a repertory of student research and creative work on local urban legends and cryptids. Throughout this presentation of student work audience members will be asked to withhold easy binary judgements of right or wrong, fact or false, high or low culture, and consider the types of ideological work cultural constructions hold in our collective and individual consciousness. It is easy to discredit. It is easy to dismiss. It is hard to attempt to understand the greater social, cultural, historical, political, and affective reasons why individuals make the choices they make for themselves, regardless of social conventions.