Animal Studies Panel, MMLA ("After the Archive") Chicago November 12-14 Sea Creatures, Then and Now“When the abyss stares back, it demands recognition.” Stacy Alaimo’s newest book—The Abyss Stares Back: Encounters With Deep-Sea Life—challenges us to explore encounters with marine life, intimacies partly enabled by science but offering opportunities for literature and art. This panel seeks papers on any aspect of creaturely marine life and its myriad relationships with human existence. Although traditional AV will not be available for this panel, participants are both allowed and encouraged to share a QR code through which audience members may access their presentations. Please submit a 250-300 word abstract to Lucinda Cole (lcol@illinois.edu) by April 10, 2026.