With the arrival of spring comes good news. Miskatonic Institute’s New York branch will close the spring with a live class at Film Noir Cinema. We’re honoured to welcome Dr. Wendy Nielsen, who will give a class on Facing Familiar Fears: Race, Gender, and Technology in Frankenstein, on Tuesday May 17th at 7:00pm.
In even more exciting news, we are thrilled to welcome Claire Donner to the Miskatonic family, as Director of the New York branch, beginning this fall. Claire is a life-long horror devotee with a passion for bringing intellectual attention to material that has been so often dismissed as too low brow, or too taboo, to warrant the serious thought that it deserves. She comes from an art history background, and she applies that training to furthering a deeper understanding of horror, exploitation, and other forms of extreme media. Having previously worked with Bill Lustig, Joe Bob Briggs, and at comiXology as an in-house expert on controversial comic books, Claire is thrilled to join the team in the mission to shed light on dark matter.
“Working with Miskatonic is a dream opportunity that, as a young horror nerd, I could never have imagined. Anyone who remembers hiding issues of Fangoria from censorious adults knows that we have entered an extraordinary moment in which more and more people are speaking about, and listening to, what makes this genre so ripe for academic examination. I’m deeply honored to become one of the stewards of this great and growing community, and to help promote ideas whose time has come.”
We’ve loved having Cristina Cacioppo as co-director for the past year, and wish her luck in her future endeavors.
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We hope to continue with live classes in New York in the autumn semester, so keep your eye on our website for upcoming news!
Tuesday May 17th 7:00pm EDT
Film Noir Cinema
FACING FAMILIAR FEARS: RACE, GENDER, AND TECHNOLOGY IN FRANKENSTEIN
Instructor: Dr. Wendy Nielsen
Are humans only born, or can they be made? Must your origins determine your future? Are you fated to be who you are, or can you choose? What lessons does Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein have to teach us about Black Lives Matter and the role of science and technology in shaping our concept of who counts as human? What can we learn through Shelley’s novel about extending human rights–including the right to reproduce–to synthetic, artificial life forms?
Though it was first published more than two centuries ago, Shelley’s groundbreaking narrative is as relevant and provocative today as it was in 1818. Its blend of science fiction, horror, and gothic drama provide a phantasmagorical laboratory in which progressive generations of scholars, writers, and artists continue to test what it means to be human. This talk will explore Frankenstein’s implications for modern autonomy and identity issues by analyzing the original text with an eye toward science’s impact on racial, sexual, and gender-based discrimination. Topics will range from incest to artificial life, and slavery to the singularity.
Please be advised that this class is not included in the Global Spring 2022 Pass or the New York Spring 2022 Pass.
Please check with your local health authority on the current requirements for masks and vaccination for attending live events.