British History and Culture in a Global Context 1

(2 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The first science fiction novel about the dangers of artificial intelligence... - A satire on scientific overreach and humans' desire to become God... - A dark fable about our desire to overcome death... Since its first publication in 1818, Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" has been endlessly reinterpreted, speaking in new ways to each generation. This course will explore the text in its philosophical and historical context, introducing you to aspects of early 19th century British culture including science, imperial exploration, psychology, and revolutionary politics. The final part of the course will explore the afterlife of the text in Britain and America, including film adaptations (including the 1931 and 2025 adaptations), and references to Frankenstein in contemporary scientific debates about artificial intelligence and bioethics. I will ask you to read about 25-30 pages in English each week, along with some short extracts from academic essays. In addition to Frankenstein, we will read some short extracts from other Romantic-period Gothic texts, including John Polidori's short story "The Vampyre" (1819).