The Horror Studies Working Group at the University of Pittsburgh is dedicated to creating a welcoming space for all those looking to study horror, and to recognize the power of horror as a social force. Join several members of the Horror Studies Working Group to learn more about their cutting-edge research that combines theory, scholarship, and a love of horror, and to learn about some of the most intriguing trends in modern Horror Studies.

Queer theory seeks not only to interrogate issues of sexuality and gender, but also issues of class, race, ability, health, and identity. Horror offers the perfect genre to frame these discussions in a way that allows for creative self-expression, emotional release, and finding community. Come join an expanded panel of creators to discuss how horror is changing the landscape of theory.

Join members of Unwell, as well as members of Pitt’s Welcomed by Design podcast, to discuss the technical side of podcasting. Topics will include creating immersive soundscapes, overcoming common technical pitfalls, issues of audio accessibility, inclusion, and more. Please bring your own questions and issues, too. Students interested in taking part in the Horror Studies Working Group Podcasting Competition are especially encouraged to take part.

Unwell is a gothic horror podcast set in a small town in Ohio, created by HartLife NFP. A podcast with conspiracies, ghosts, and unusual families of blood and choice, Unwell demonstrates how the horror genre can be a tool for explore issues of identity, health, disability, time, and nostalgia. Unwell was named the Best Podcast or Online Audio Drama in the 2021 BBC Audio Drama Awards, and has won four 2020 Audio Verse awards, including Production, Writing for a Production, Director of a Production (Jeffrey Nils Gardner), and Supporting Actor in a Production (Marsha Harman as Dot).

Join members of The White Vault, as well as some podcasters from the University of Pittsburgh, to discuss the technical side of podcasting. Topics will include creating immersive soundscapes, overcoming common technical pitfalls, issues of audio accessibility, and more. Please bring your own questions and issues, too. Students interested in taking part in the Horror Studies Working Group Podcasting Competition are especially encouraged to take part.

The White Vault is a found footage horror fiction podcast created by K.A. Statz that features an international cast and crew, with special ties to the University of Pittsburgh. Noted for its diverse cast, immersive soundscape, and multi-lingual approach to storytelling, The White Vault has won the 2018 HEAR Now: Audio Fiction and Arts Festival, and it has been a 2019 & 2020 Webby Award Honoree for Best Original Music / Sound Design in Podcasting.

Over several years, Queer Horror Week has become a critical component of the Horror Studies Working Group's annual programming, featuring the work of queer creators and artists, and providing opportunities to discuss how horror can provide a creative outlet, a tool of self-expression, and a basis for groundbreaking theory around queerness, identity, and genre studies.

The revolutionary prospect of socialism inspired homosexual emancipation and the growth of toleration toward same-sex relations in the first quarter of the twentieth century in many countries, including the UK, US, Hungary, and USSR. However, the development of LGBTQ+ rights within socialism was never linear and even.

In this talk, Dr. Sarrett will discuss her research on parental and professional experiences of autism in Kerala, India and Atlanta, Georgia. This work demonstrates how Westernization influences the ways non-Western cultures integrate concepts of autism into their cultural concepts of illness, family, and normality. She will discuss this work in the context of global bioethics, global disability studies, and the unidirectional nature of psychiatric influence. Register on the Zoom link!

Content warnings have become an important feature of pedagogical practice. In this talk and discussion, I reflect on my experiences as a junior scholar trying to promote ethnographic research on topics that are triggering. I focus on “shopping” a book manuscript on sexual violence as a process beset by competing imperatives to engage ethically, to support the mental health of others, to adhere to disciplinary conventions around “thick description,” and to market the book as attracting a wide readership. Register on the Zoom link!