CHAMADA 2025 | Dossier: The traces of the monstrous in the sacred

Research into the sacred in literature is usually framed within somewhat rigid limits, mainly close to theological or philosophical criteria that don't risk looking at non-canonical aspects, such as the monstrous or the grotesque. This was precisely the axis of reflection of the 1st Interdisciplinary Conference on Literature and Transcendence, which took place at the Faculty of History, Literature, Philosophy and Oriental Studies of the University of Salvador (Buenos Aires) on September 26, 2023, the theme of which was "Las huellas de lo monstruoso en lo sagrado" (The traces of the monstrous in the sacred). The conference was organized by the Literatura y Transcendencia group (USAL), together with the Behemot Network (PUC-Campinas, Catolica de Chile). Throughout this regional event, participants reflected on the monstrous aspects of the sacred - understanding, from a non-canonical point of view, that this concept cannot be defined or delimited. This theme was approached from the perspective of literature, biblical interpretation and art, among other fields. As a result of this meeting, we are calling for academic papers to be published in a dossier. These papers should focus on the explicit topic and its intertextual and interdisciplinary intersections, namely:

• Monstrous aspects of the sacred in religion;
• Monstrous aspects of the sacred and their biblical evocations;
• Monstrous aspects of the sacred and their resonance in literature, art and iconography;
• Aspects of the monstrous in the sacred and their theological and theopoetic approach;
• Aspects of the monstrous in mysticism;
• Traces and textures of the relationship between the sacred, the grotesque and the monstrous.