The Digital Literature Review is back, and we are eager to receive your submissions for our upcoming issue on Freak Shows and Human Zoos! Last year we researched slavery, but this year we’ve been studying the cultural significance and lasting impact of freak shows and other forms of human exhibits in our society and culture as a whole.

This year in preparation, we’ve been reading a wide variety of articles and narratives about both exhibits themselves and the people in charge of the shows. Some of our texts have included The Elephant Man, Venus, Geek Love, and the 1932 cult classic film Freaks.

We’ve redesigned our Facebook, Twitter, and blog to fit this year’s theme. Feel free to explore all of these pages to see all of our new posts focusing on human exhibits, show managers, and present-day conceptualizations and incarnations of the freak show!

If you’re an undergraduate interested in our research, look over our call for papers and submit your related work to our journal. If you’d rather not write an essay, you can submit a shorter post for possible publication here on our blog. Email us at dlr@bsu.edu with any submissions or questions.

We’re very excited to delve deeper into this topic, and we hope you enjoy the content we post as we work to  expand the conversation surrounding freak shows and human zoos.