231209 The Monster's Legacy: Frankenstein Reimagined (S) (WiSe 2023/2024)

In this course, we will embark on an exploration of Mary Shelley's iconic 1818 novel Frankenstein, examining its enduring influence on the literary canon. However, our focus will extend beyond Shelley's original work, delving into various rewritings and adaptations of the novel that consider socio-political circumstances and display a heightened awareness of identity politics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we will uncover the transformation of the monster and the role of the scientist, as well as contemplate Mary Shelley's role as a creator. We will investigate the ethical implications surrounding the scientific pursuit of knowledge and the complex relationship between creation and responsibility, and explore themes of alienation, monstrosity, and empathy.
We will engage with a range of literary and media works that offer unique perspectives on Frankenstein and its legacy. These include Scottish writer Alasdair Gray's neo-Victorian novel Poor Things (1992), English playwright Nick Dear's 2011 adaptation of Shelley's novel, Iraqi writer Ahmed Saadawi's Frankenstein in Baghdad (2013) set in a war-torn city, and the contemporary US/UK-produced TV series Penny Dreadful (2014-16), which imagines further transformations for Creature and Creator. We will also examine interdisciplinary works such as the media performance piece Reading Frankenstein (2003) by Annie Loui and Antoinette LaFarge, which combines literature, technology, and performance art.
Through these texts and media, we will explore the evolving portrayals of the monster, examining how societal changes influence its representation and our understanding of monstrosity. Drawing upon Jeffrey Jerome Cohen's seminal work "Monster Culture: Seven Theses" we will delve into the methodology of monster theory, a critical perspective that considers the significance of the monster in shaping cultural discourse.

Bibliography

Reading List
Some primary and secondary reading will be made available. Students are asked to obtain the following:
• Dear, Nick. Frankenstein: Based on the Novel by Mary Shelley. 2011. Faber (also available for e-readers).
• Gray, Alasdair. Poor Things. 2002 [1992]. Bloomsbury (also available for e-readers – and at the cinema from February 2024!).
• Saadawi, Ahmed. Frankenstein in Baghdad. 2013, trans. 2018. Oneworld Publications (also available for e-readers).
• Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. Third Norton Critical Edition, 2022 (also available for e-readers. If you don't want to use the Norton edition, that's ok, but please make sure you obtain an edition of the 1818 text, not the heavily revised 1831).

-> ! Please read Shelley's novel before our first meeting !

Note: If you use an e-reader, make sure you know how to navigate quickly and expertly within the text, how to mark passages (and find them again), how to make annotations, and how to quote properly from an eBook. I advise against working on smartphones for scholarly purposes.

• Please make also sure you have access to the first season of the TV series Penny Dreadful
(2014-2016, available for example via Amazon Prime).