In the Company of Wolves: Werewolves, Wolves and Wild Children 2023 18.00–20.30 BST, 20 October 2023, on line.
Even the most clever of animals see that we are not surely at home in our interpreted world (Rilke)
This event invites you into the company of wolves to listen to their voices as they sound in ‘our interpreted world’. You will be drawn into innovative research on the cultural significance of wolves, wild children and werewolves as portrayed in different media and genres.
In this evening of lively illustrated talks, we will situate the werewolf in a broader context of animality and sociality, challenging the simplistic model of the werewolf as the ‘beast within’, and embracing the werewolf as ‘spectre wolf’.
This is your chance to take part in a challenge to redeem the wolf, join a discussion based on Marcus Sedgwick’s essay on writing wolves and lies (see discussion points here), and participate in werewolf flash fiction writing (40-50 words). We are launching the paperback edition of the OGOM Project book In the Company of Wolves which will be available at 30% discount to all our delegates.
Resources
Attendees will have access to special resources including a suggested reading list, a timeline of wolves and werewolves, and PDFs of werewolf stories and relevant articles.
Wolves, wildness, and humanity
Of all the Gothic monsters, the werewolf best expresses our ambivalent concerns with nature, both the natural world and our inner nature that is our animal heritage. This event is a chance to explore our own divided existence and the relationship of human beings to their environment. Wolves themselves are highly social and yet are portrayed culturally as monstrous predators; we look at the symbol of the wolf in various narratives. We look, too, at stories of wild children – often thought to have been raised by wolves – and what light they cast upon our emergence as linguistic, storytelling creatures from wild nature.
Programme
You can download a specially designed programme as a PDF from this Resources page.
18.00–18.10 Welcome and Introduction; three-word challenge.
Each talk will be 15 minutes; there will be opportunities for questions and answers.
Attendees will have access to special resources including a suggested reading list, a timeline of wolves and werewolves, and PDFs of werewolf stories and relevant articles.
Follow event on Twitter with #OGOMWolves2023
Wolves and the Culture of the Wild
This event is dedicated to the memory of Marcus Sedgwick (1968–2022), acclaimed writer and friend of OGOM. Marcus gave a keynote on children raised by wolves at the In the Company of Wolves conference and contributed the chapter ‘Wolves and lies’ to the book.
18.10–18.25 Sam George, When wolves cry: Wolf-children, storytelling, and the state of nature.
Dr Sam George is Associate Professor of Research at the University of Hertfordshire and the Convener of the Open Graves, Open Minds Project.
18.25–18.40 Catherine Spooner, Wearing the wolf: Fur, fashion, and species transvestism.
Prof. Catherine Spooner is Professor of Literature and Culture at Lancaster University.
Wolves, lies, and fiction
18.40–19.10 Wolves, lies, and fiction workshop: An open discussion inspired by the work of Marcus Sedgwick; Writing wolves and werewolves (flash fiction).
19.10–19.25 Break
Werewolves and Romance
19.25–19.40 Bill Hughes, ‘The price of flesh is love’: Commodification, corporeality, and paranormal romance in Angela Carter’s beast tales.
Dr Bill Hughes is co-convenor of the Open Graves, Open Minds Project.
19.40–19.55 Kaja Franck, Growing pains of the teenage werewolf: YA literature and the metaphorical wolf.
Dr Kaja Franck is Lecturer in Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Hertfordshire and researcher with the OGOM Project.
Werewolves through the Camera
19.55–20.10 Ivan Phillips, ‘I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself’: The metafictional meanings of lycanthropic transformation in Doctor Who.
Dr Ivan Phillips is Associate Dean in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Hertfordshire.
20.10–20.30 Q & A and three-word challenge.
Booking
Tickets are available from here via Eventbrite.
* Includes 30% discount on In the Company of Wolves paperback book.
Fees
£8.00 Full rate
£5.00 Concessionary (for students and unwaged).
