STSC 023 - Transformation and Power in the Industrial Age;Europe

Institution:

University of Pennsylvania

Subject:

Description:

Tresch. Victor Frankenstein created a monster. But he didn't make it out of nothing: he found body parts in operation rooms and graves, sewed them together, and invested the new whole with life following scripts laid down by thinkers both ancient and new. Likewise, in creating Frankenstein, one of the greatest novels of all time, Mary Shelley put together elements from gothic fiction, moral and political philosophy, romantic poetry and contemporary science. What were the books that Victor Frankenstein read What ideas animated Shelley's act of creation in this seminar we will read from the primary texts that made up Frankenstein and Shelley's libraries, along with closely related works from this period, ranging from Renaissance magic, modern electrochemistry and physiology, through to Rousseau, Smith, Milton, Poe and Balzac. These readings will bring to life a crucial monment in the history of the West--after the French Revolution and at the start of the industrial age--which will give us perspective on today's anxieties about technology and science.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.upenn.edu

Phone Number:

(215) 898-5000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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