New Course Looks at Frankenstein in the Age of the Industrial Revolution

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I'm pleased to announce a new course for Spring 2018: Machines and the Age of Invention (H375; Course #31774). We will meet on Tuesdays from 3:00 to 5:45. 2018 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, arguably the first modern science fiction novel. Using Frankenstein as its key text, this course explores the history of science and medical ethics during the 18th and 19th centuries. Topics that we will discuss include grave robbing, dissection, gender, and human consciousness. We will place historical documents in conversation with contemporary debates through examining Frankenstein's influence on popular culture including films such as Blade Runner and Ex Machina.

Our course meetings will cover the following topics.

Week 1: Introductions Week 2: The Year Without a Summer Week 3: Frankenstein Week 4: GIS Lab Week 5: Dual Revolutions Week 6: Capital and Capitalism Week 7: Cotton and Slavery Week 8: Workers and Machines Week 9: The Great Divergence Week 10: Human Psychology, Learning, Reason, and Sensibility Week 11: Gender and Race Week 12: Execution, Body Snatching, and Reanimation Week 13: Nature and Monsters Week 14: Posthumans and Cyborgs Week 15: The Anthropocene

This course can also be taken for graduate credit. Please contact Jason M. Kelly for more information.

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