Mars Shelley's "Frankenstein". A Representation of the Dichotomy of Nature versus Civilization

Mars Shelley's
Author: Janine Lacombe
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 25
Release: 2014-08-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3656715866

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Koblenz-Landau (Anglistik), course: Interpreting Literature, language: English, abstract: Civilization is hideously fragile [...] there’s not much between us and the Horrors underneath, just about a coat of varnish. (C.P Snow qtd. in Bhimeswara 178). What does it mean to be human and what does it mean to become civilized? Questions of origin and purpose constitute strong themes in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. In the following chapters the seeming interdependence between civilization, its scientific pursuits and nature will be examined and illustrated by appropriate examples. Before exploring how the dichotomy of nature versus civilization is represented in the story and which motifs and themes are incorporated in order to create such contrast, two philosophical approaches thought to have inspired the author will be introduced and put into context. After a theoretical frame is established, ‘nature’ and ‘civilization’ as major themes of the novel will be analyzed and compared. It is hoped to illustrate how each theme is represented and what effect it has on the overall reception and interpretation. 2. Nature versus Civilization – Philosophical Approaches and Theories Mary Shelley’s scientific gothic novel can be interpreted as a representation of a Victorian woman’s reaction to experiments in natural science and galvanic electricity. To what extend her sophisticated and critical reflection on contemporary societal issues draws from theories of much cited social analysts like Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Locke will be explored in the following chapters.

The Cambridge Companion to `Frankenstein'

The Cambridge Companion to `Frankenstein'
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2016-08-25
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 1107086191

Sixteen original essays by leading scholars on Mary Shelley's novel provide an introduction to Frankenstein and its various critical contexts.

The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Posthuman

The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Posthuman
Author: Bruce Clarke
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2017
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1107086205

This book gathers diverse critical treatments from fifteen scholars of the posthuman and posthumanism together in a single volume.

Ecological Literature and the Critique of Anthropocentrism

Ecological Literature and the Critique of Anthropocentrism
Author: Bryan L. Moore
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2017-10-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 3319607383

This book is an analysis of literary texts that question, critique, or subvert anthropocentrism, the notion that the universe and everything in it exists for humans. Bryan Moore examines ancient Greek and Roman texts; medieval to twentieth-century European texts; eighteenth-century French philosophy; early to contemporary American texts and poetry; and science fiction to demonstrate a historical basis for the questioning of anthropocentrism and contemplation of responsible environmental stewardship in the twenty-first century and beyond. Ecological Literature and the Critique of Anthropocentrism is essential reading for ecocritics and ecofeminists. It will also be useful for researchers interested in the relationship between science and literature, environmental philosophy, and literature in general.

The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film

The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film
Author: Steven Sanders
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2007-12-14
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0813172810

The science fiction genre maintains a remarkable hold on the imagination and enthusiasm of the filmgoing public, captivating large audiences worldwide and garnering ever-larger profits. Science fiction films entertain the possibility of time travel and extraterrestrial visitation and imaginatively transport us to worlds transformed by modern science and technology. They also provide a medium through which questions about personal identity, moral agency, artificial consciousness, and other categories of experience can be addressed. In The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film, distinguished authors explore the storylines, conflicts, and themes of fifteen science fiction film classics, from Metropolis to The Matrix. Editor Steven M. Sanders and a group of outstanding scholars in philosophy, film studies, and other fields raise science fiction film criticism to a new level by penetrating the surface of the films to expose the underlying philosophical arguments, ethical perspectives, and metaphysical views. Sanders's introduction presents an overview and evaluation of each essay and poses questions for readers to consider as they think about the films under discussion.The first section, "Enigmas of Identity and Agency," deals with the nature of humanity as it is portrayed in Blade Runner, Dark City, Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Total Recall. In the second section, "Extraterrestrial Visitation, Time Travel, and Artificial Intelligence," contributors discuss 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and The Day the Earth Stood Still and analyze the challenges of artificial intelligence, the paradoxes of time travel, and the ethics of war. The final section, "Brave Newer World: Science Fiction Futurism," looks at visions of the future in Metropolis, The Matrix, Alphaville, and screen adaptations of George Orwell's 1984.

New Keywords

New Keywords
Author: Tony Bennett
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1118725417

Over 25 years ago, Raymond Williams’ Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society set the standard for how we understand and use the language of culture and society. Now, three luminaries in the field of cultural studies have assembled a volume that builds on and updates Williams’ classic, reflecting the transformation in culture and society since its publication. New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society is a state-of-the-art reference for students, teachers and culture vultures everywhere. Assembles a stellar team of internationally renowned and interdisciplinary social thinkers and theorists Showcases 142 signed entries – from art, commodity, and fundamentalism to youth, utopia, the virtual, and the West – that capture the practices, institutions, and debates of contemporary society Builds on and updates Raymond Williams’s classic Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, by reflecting the transformation in culture and society over the last 25 years Includes a bibliographic resource to guide research and cross-referencing The book is supported by a website: www.blackwellpublishing.com/newkeywords.

The Routledge History of Literature in English

The Routledge History of Literature in English
Author: Ronald Carter
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 598
Release: 2001
Genre: English language
ISBN: 9780415243179

This is a guide to the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature, charting some of the main features of literary language development and highlighting key language topics.

EcoGothic

EcoGothic
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2015-11-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1526102927

This book will provide the first study of how the Gothic engages with ecocritical ideas. Ecocriticism has frequently explored images of environmental catastrophe, the wilderness, the idea of home, constructions of 'nature', and images of the post-apocalypse – images which are also central to a certain type of Gothic literature. By exploring the relationship between the ecocritical aspects of the Gothic and the Gothic elements of the ecocritical, this book provides a new way of looking at both the Gothic and ecocriticism. Writers discussed include Ann Radcliffe, Mary Shelley, Ambrose Bierce, Algernon Blackwood, Margaret Atwood, Cormac McCarthy, Dan Simmons and Rana Dasgupta. The volume thus explores writing and film across various national contexts including Britain, America and Canada, as well as giving due consideration to how such issues might be discussed within a global context.

Monster theory [electronic resource]

Monster theory [electronic resource]
Author: Jeffrey Jerome Cohen
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 331
Release: 1996-11-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1452900558

The contributors to Monster Theory consider beasts, demons, freaks and fiends as symbolic expressions of cultural unease that pervade a society and shape its collective behavior. Through a historical sampling of monsters, these essays argue that our fascination for the monstrous testifies to our continued desire to explore difference and prohibition.

Technology and the Growth of Civilization

Technology and the Growth of Civilization
Author: Giancarlo Genta
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2019-09-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 3030255832

Our natural world has been irretrievably altered by humans, for humans. From domesticated wheat fields to nuclear power plants and spacecraft, everything we see and interact with has in some way been changed by the presence of our species, starting from the Neolithic era so many centuries ago. This book provides a crash course on the issues and debates surrounding technology’s shifting place in our society. It covers the history of our increasingly black-box world, which some theorize will end with technology accelerating beyond our understanding. At the same time, it analyzes competing trends and theories, the lack of scientific knowledge of large sections of the population, the dogmas of pseudoscience, and the growing suspicion of science and technology, which may inevitably lead to scientific stagnation. What will the future of our civilization look like? How soon might scientific acceleration or stagnation arrive at our doorstep, and just how radically will such technological shifts change our culture? These are issues that we must address now, to insure our future goes the way we choose.