Slasher, a disreputable offcut of the horror genre, has been the subject of intense criticism over the last 40 years. Despite an emergent body of scholarship that closely examines this subgenre across various forms and periods, seminal works from the 1980s and early 1990s still continue to monopolise the field, heavily referenced and applied to contemporary texts. It is undeniable that critics in film studies such as Robin Wood, Carol J. Clover, Vera Dika, Linda Williams and Barbara Creed provide us with important theoretical foundations that are still useful today. However, more needs to be done to examine the ways in which their works have been interpreted, developed and innovated by recent scholarship to create a critical discourse that appears to situate itself in "slasher studies," seemingly distinctive branch of horror studies that has gradually emerged over the last 20 years.

By collating papers that consider the relationship between slasher theory, history and practice, this online conference interrogates the very notion of "slasher studies" and its potential definition(s). Indeed, The Slasher Studies Summer Camp fundamentally asks if "slasher studies" is an academic discipline in its own right, distinctive from horror studies, and if so, how did it become? Alternatively, if “slasher studies” is not its own academic discipline, why not and what are the disciplinary politics at play?

In asking these questions, this conference is the first of its kind and provides a safe and supportive interdisciplinary space for scholars to present their research, share their ideas and build a network with others working in the field, questioning and rectifying a plethora of theoretical, historical and practical assumptions in the process.

To access the full conference programme, please visit The Slasher Studies Summer Camp website.

The Slasher Studies Summer Camp: Theory, History, Practice