UA Little Rock to Host Spooky Edition of Evenings with History
UA Little Rock is inviting history enthusiasts to start the spooky season with the return of its Evenings with History Series Oct. 7 at Historic Arkansas Museum.
The first lecture, “Spooky Season: Monsters in History,” will begin with refreshments at 7 p.m. and the lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Ottenheimer Auditorium.
Four UA Little Rock professors will discuss spooky tales from around the world and introduce the audience to some scary monsters and the impact they’ve had on today’s culture.
Dr. Katrina Yeaw, associate professor of history, will explore how jinn crept into history and imagination as beings both feared and fascinating, reminding us that the scariest monsters aren’t always lurking in the shadows; they might be sitting right beside us.
“For centuries, they’ve haunted desert landscapes, whispered temptations, and explained eerie happenings that defied easy answers,” Yeaw said. “Jinn are said to be born of smokeless fire in the Qur’an, these shape-shifting spirits slip between the human and supernatural worlds, sometimes as tricksters, tormentors and sometimes surprisingly helpful.”
Yi Ren, assistant professor of history, will explain how in Chinese folklore, oral traditions, and literary works, stories about fox spirits are especially rich and varied. Fox spirits sometimes appear as seductive women, as ghosts bringing illness and death, and sometimes as deities or ancestors offering blessings, fertility or moral lessons.
“I will discuss why these tales flourished in the late imperial period and, through two fox-spirit stories, show what they reveal about popular religion, the ways Confucian values were both challenged and reinforced, and the position of women in late imperial China,” Ren said.
Michael Heil, associate professor of history, will be speaking about the undead in medieval England, focusing on revenants, the dead who return to their physical bodies and walk the earth, as described by writers in 12th-century England.
“These writers spend as much time describing the community responses to such terrors as they do the actions of the undead themselves. I’ll discuss these responses, some sanctioned by ecclesiastical authorities and others not, as well as recent archeological discoveries that may confirm these accounts,” Heil said.
Hannah Anderson, assistant professor of history, will be speaking about the Jersey Devil. Originally called the Leeds Devil, this creature has frequently been described as having an equine head, a serpentine tail, and bat wings. Reportedly the 13th child of an 18th-century witch named Mother Leeds, the Jersey Devil is said to run through the Jersey pine barren forests at night, screeching wildly. Anderson will discuss recent scholarly findings on the real history of the Leeds family, using their story to illuminate faith, politics, family, and science in early America, and explore the Jersey Devil’s place in 20th century folklore and popular culture.
For more information, visit the UA Little Rock Evenings with History website.