Thur 1/25

Introductions: You, Me, Frankenstein

Readings/Discussions:

• Coffee with a Professor Program (free coffee/tea!)

• Syllabus Policies & Schedule:

  • Emailing, Office Hours

  • Plagiarism/Recording/Intellectual Property

  • Read Shadow Syllabus (Sonja Huber)

• Emailing your Professors:

  • Writing Center’s handout (pdf)

  • "Re: Your Recent Email to your Professor" Inside Higher Ed

Tue 1/30

Our Curriculum

Discussions

• How to organize the semester - Student choice

• Required Edition + Reading Strategies

• Why is Frankenstein still so popular 200 years later? See our Information on The Popularity of Frankenstein page

Thur 2/1

Reading all of Frankenstein - No Class Session

The class decided that you need to read all of the novel first before taking a deep dive

Work on reading Introduction, Vols. 1-3 of Frankenstein

Tue 2/6

Introduction to Contemporary Cultural Moment of Frankenstein - British Romanticism

Reading

• ...still finishing the entire novel

• See our Information About Mary Shelley & Her Circle page

• See our Information About the Novel page

• See our Information About the British Romantic Period page

• See our Databases & Online Resources page

   

Helpful Videos

• Introduction to Gothic Literature

• Frankenstein Mini-Lecture 1 (Introduction to Novel)

• Frankenstein Mini-Lecture 2 (Vol I)

• Frankenstein Mini-Lecture 3 (Vols I-II)

Discussion

• "Body Worlds Decoded," The Tech Museum -- Off Campus

• Film Festival Planning - Teams

• Attending & blogging about events, films, podcasts (Stanford & SVLS)

• Tweeting as a Character assignment

Thur 2/8

Frankenstein: Nightmares, Beginnings, & Composition

Readings

• 1831 Introduction (FR 180-191)

• Epigraph (FR 1-2)

• Preface (FR 3-5)

• Letters, Vol. I (FR 5-17)

Information

• See our Information About Mary Shelley & Her Circle page
• See our Information About the Novel page
• See our Information About the British Romantic Period page
• See our Databases & Online Resources page

Related Articles

• “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein - in Charts” (The Guardian, Jan 13, 2018)

• "Frankenstein at 200 and Why Mary Shelley Was...."

• "The Weird Science that Inspired Mary Shelley"

• "Frankenstein and the Weird" (podcast)

• "A Cheat Sheet Guide to Frankenstein and the Novel's Legacy for Scientific Innovation"

Tue 2/13

Frankenstein: Science, Education, & Perversity

Readings

• Chps 1-3, Vol. I (FR 17-36)

• Edmund Burke on "Sublime and Beautiful (FR 212)

• Gilpin on "Picturesque" (FR 216)

Related Articles

• "How Franken- Lurched Its Way into Our Lexicon"

• "Why Frankenstein is still Relevant Almost 200 Years After it was Published"

• "The Long Shadow of Frankenstein"

Videos

• “Frankenstein: Defining the Monster” (Heather Keenleyside lecture, Chicago Humanities Festival 2013)

Related Readings Journal #1

Thur 2/15

Frankenstein: Dreams & Mistakes

Readings

• Chp 3-4, Vol. I (FR 37-42) - picking up at page 34 with the creature's creation

• “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Coleridge (comp 1797, pub 1817)

• “Kubla Khan,” Coleridge (1816)

• Baby and Child Care excerpt, Spock (FR 270-72)

Related Articles

• "The Vivisectionist and Frankenstein"

• A Galvanized Corpse (image)

• General Views on the Application of Galvinism to Medical Purposes (1819)

• "The Science of Life and Death in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"

• “Frankenstein’s Impact on Science with Audrey Shafer” (Stanford Radio podcast)

  "How Real Life Science Inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (Mental Floss)

 Discuss Tweet as a Character Assignment & begin tweeting (#frankenstein200 & #sjsufrankenstein)

Tue 2/20

Frankenstein: Pastoral Revenge

Readings

• Chp. 5, Vol. I, Frankenstein (FR 42-48)

• “Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth (1798)

   

Related Articles

• "Man as God: Frankenstein Turns 200"

• “Frankenstein, or the beauty and terror of science” (Henk van den Belt, Jan 9, 2017)

Discussion

• Film Festival Planning

• Review of Events -- choose your 1 outside event

Related Readings Journal #2

Thur 2/22

Frankenstein: Morality

Special Guest, Prof. Anand Vaidya, "Embodied Cognition"

Readings

• Chps. 6 & 7, Vol I Frankenstein (FR 48-64)

• Letter III, Wollstonecraft, Letters

Discussion

• Teams organizing an Event: trial, stage reading, or ethics debate

Choose your choice event for review (see instructions) by 3pm

Choose your Film Festival teammates by 3pm

Tue 2/27

Frankenstein: Heaven, Hell, & Daemons

Readings

• Chps. 1-9, Vol. II, Frankenstein (FR 69-115)

• Excerpt from Paradise Lost (FR 304)

• Byron's "Prometheus" (FR 315)

• Hazlitt on Satan from Lectures on the English Poets (FR 317)

   

Related Articles

• "The Problem with Playing God"

•  “The Monster Reads Milton’s Paradise Lost” (Wm. Moeck, NYPL)

• "Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature Online Exhibit" (History of Medicine, US National Library of Medicine)

Related Readings Journal #3

Have you filled out all information for film team, out-of-class event selection, and in-class team event? Let's get that done by 3pm

Reminder: Required attendance at 2/28 2pm Talk by Prof. Ellen Peel

Wednesday, February 28, 2-3pm

"Frankenstein at the Ballet: Mary Shelley and Her 'Hideous Progeny,'" Professor Ellen Peel, San Francisco State University

Student Union Room 4B

(Podcast of 2017 Pointes of View similar Talk)

Thur 3/1

Frankenstein: Bucolic Landscapes

Readings

• Chp. 1, Vol. III, Frankenstein (FR 115-122)

• Revisit “Tintern Abbey,” Wordsworth

Continue from Tuesday 2/27

• Chps. 1-9, Vol. II, Frankenstein (FR 69-115)

• Excerpt from Paradise Lost (FR 304)

• Byron's "Prometheus" (FR 315)

• Hazlitt on Satan from Lectures on the English Poets (FR 317)

Tue 3/6

Frankenstein's Science

Class Field Trip "Body Worlds Decoded," The Tech Museum

Review of Dr. Peel's Talk due by 3pm

Thur 3/8

Frankenstein: Threats, Destruction, & Cold Climates

NEW: Prof. Shannon Miller, Dean of our college, will join us to discuss Milton's Paradise Lost and the role of Satan

Readings

• Chps. 2-8, Vol. III, Frankenstein (FR 123-179)

Related Articles

• "Is Silicon Valley Making its own Monsters" (Science Friday, NPR

• "The Horror Story that Haunts Science" (Jon Cohen, Science Magazine, Jan 10, 2018) 

• "How Frankenstein's Monster Became Sexy"
• "Frankenstein in Baghdad" (Larman, The Guardian, Feb 18, 2018)
• "Frankenstein's Landscapes" (podcast)

•  “Frankenstein’s Moon” (Donald Olsen, et al, NYPL)

• "The Modern Day Victor Frankensteins"

• "Frankenstein's Impact on Science" (podcast)

Related Readings Journal #4

Review of "Body Worlds Decoded" due by Friday, 5pm

March 9, 7pm, San Francisco Ballet

See Information San Francisco Ballet

Tue 3/13

Adaptation: Frankenstein in Three Acts

Readings

• all of the play

Related Articles

• "What Victor Frankenstein Got Wrong"

• See Synopsis, Characters, etc @ Romantic Circles

• "The Trouble with Doubles" (podcast)

Discussion

• Student Poster Session, Deep Humanities, May 1, 12-2pm - Instructions

Review of SF Ballet performance due Wednesday, 5pm

Thur 3/15

Adaptation: Frankenstein in Three Acts

In-Class Event

• "Presumption" (stage reading, 1823)

Post your team's film selection and a draft of the rationale for this selection by 3pm

Tue 3/20

Adaptation: Destroyer

Readings

• Destroyer, Books 1-3

•  "Dick Gregory @ Kent State" (1971, video)

• Black Frankenstein: The Making of An American Metaphor (read the introduction - pdf)
• "Study for Frankenstein #1" (artwork)

Related Articles

• "Updating Frankenstein for the Age of Black Lives Matter"

• The Irish Frankenstein (image)

Discussion

• Prototype Poster for our Film Festival! which one?

Related Readings Journal #5

Poster Proposal Due on Wed, 3pm

Thur 3/22

Adaptation: Destroyer

Readings

• Destroyer, Books 4-6

   

Related Articles

• Observations on Insanity... (Arnold 1782 - pathologizes imagination as the first step towards insanity if overused

Post: Choose 1 Related Article to discuss the readings for today (300-500 words)

Tue 3/27

Thur 3/29

 SPRING BREAK

Post your team's "curtain talk" draft by 3pm

Tue 4/3

Adaptation: Patchwork Girl

Readings

Related Articles

• "The Race to Build the World's First Sex Robot"

Post: Choose 1 Related Article to discuss the readings for today (300-500 words)

Thur 4/5

Trial 

In-Class Event

• Trial of Victor Frankenstein or Creature (mental stability & establishing madness; religious position; psychological position; child development of creature)

Readings:

• "Man as God: Frankenstein Turns 200"

• "Dr. Frankenstein's Three Big Mistakes"

Re-submission of Tweeting as a Character Essay Due by 3pm

Frankenstein Film Festival - Opening Night

April 6, Student Union Theater, 5-8pm

Tue 4/10

In-Class Event

• Ethics Debate of creature vs. monster (involved SJSU Debate Team? Prof. Susser Phil students?)

Thur 4/12

Poster Session Prep

Poster Design Prototype due by 3pm

Frankenstein Film Festival

April 12, Student Union, Room 1A, 5-7:30pm

Tue 4/17

Adaptation: OKBOS

Readings

• Play Frankenstein in OKBOS!

• See our Information about OKBOS page

Related Readings Journal #8

Thur 4/19

Adaptation: OKBOS

Special Guest: Thane Plambeck, co-creator of OKBOS

Digital File for Poster due by 3pm 

Frankenstein Film Festival

April 20, Student Union, Room 1A, 5:30-8pm

Tue 4/24

Poster Session Prep

 Discuss

• How to present for your poster
• Final Project - Essay

Thur 4/26

Prep for "Deep Humanities" Poster Session

Film Festival Team Essays due by 3pm

Tue 5/1

"Deep Humanities" Panels & Poster Session

10-4pm, King Library, Rm 225/229

Thur 5/3

Review of "Deep Humanities" panel & poster session

Tue 5/8

WORK ON YOUR RESEARCH ESSAY -- NO CLASS

Related Readings Journal #9 - Participation Self-Evaluation

Thur 5/10

Final Research Essay Prep

WORK ON YOUR RESEARCH ESSAY -- NO CLASS

FINAL Research Essay Due - No Class Session

May 18, 2:45-5pm