EIU Media Relations

Literature Conference Examines Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'

Oct-11-2005

Lovers of great books are invited to “Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’” this year’s literature conference, scheduled to take place Oct. 20 and 21 on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

The conference takes place in conjunction with a national exhibit being hosted by EIU’s Booth Library. Several of the conference’s events are free and open to the public. No registration is required.

The library will sponsor a gala reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, in its Marvin Foyer to introduce the national exhibit “‘Frankenstein’: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature.” This event will feature a brief talk by the exhibit’s literary consultant, Betty T. Bennett, of American University in Washington, D.C., whose research focuses on romanticism and Mary Shelley.

Friday’s program will include three public lectures, to be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Bennett will open the conference at 9 a.m. with the talk, “Unmasking Monsters: Science, Politics and Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’”

Stefani Engelstein will speak at 1 p.m. on “The Mirror and the Knife: Dissecting the Science of Life in ‘Frankenstein.’” Engelstein, who teaches at the University of Missouri, has written extensively on connections between science and literature.

The conference will conclude with the 2:15 p.m. presentation of “‘Frankenstein’ on Film: A Comparison of Adaptations,” presented by Don Smith, a specialist in popular culture and host of WEIU-TV’s “Monsterbeast Theatre.”

Other features of the conference include concurrent workshops at both 10 and 11 a.m. Registration fees apply. Please see http://www.eiu.edu/adulted/noncredit/lit05.html, or phone 581-5116, for conference information.

Phone 581-6072 for information on the library exhibit.

The literature conference is sponsored in part by the Illinois Humanities Council and Eastern Illinois University’s Library Services; the exhibit is developed by the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association. Major funding for the exhibit was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Library of Medicine.