From September 18th to 22nd, 2023, the Centre for Social Studies (CES) in Coimbra hosted the III Monsters Summer School (III MSS), an event co-organized by project TRACE, project REMEMBER, project Trialogues and the Sexualities Research Group (GPS-CES).

Over the course of the week, ten students, eight guest speakers, and two workshop facilitators explored critical discussions surrounding monstrosity, queer identities, and dissident embodiments. The school provided a nurturing environment where participants were encouraged to challenge normative frameworks and engage with the figure of the monster from a queer theoretical perspective.

The Monsters Summer School embraces monstrosity in what it offers regarding the undoing of binaries and the celebration of embodied differences. We aimed to trace, remember and reclaim monsters through a queer lens and at creating spaces to discuss contributions and experiences that often fall out of the map even within critical studies.

The organizing committee, composed of Ana Cristina Santos (Coord.), Ana Lúcia Santos, Joana Brilhante, Mara Pieri, Pablo Pérez Navarro, and Pedro Fidalgo, carefully curated a program that blended academic rigor with collaborative learning. The feedback from participants underscored the success of this approach, with an impressive average rating of 4.53 out of 5. One participant described MSS as “one of the most nurturing, growing, educating, and caring ‘academic’ events I’ve been to,” while another noted that it “exceeded expectations” and was “intellectually stimulating.”

The event was further enriched by cultural partnerships with Teatro da Cerca de S. Bernardo and Queer Lisboa, adding artistic and cultural dimensions to the learning experience. A special highlight was the “Queer Choir” workshop. The timeline for the Summer School, and a compilation of photos are available bellow.