Celebrate the 200th birthday of Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein with University Libraries all semester
University Libraries Irvin Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein with these events and activities.
Frankenstein: 1818-2018 Exhibit - through Dec. 21
Curated by the Irvin Department's Jeanne Britton, this special exhibit offers insight into not just the novel, its author, and its historical background, but also issues still relevant today, including the origin of life, the definition of "human," and the ethics of revolutionary science. Highlights include the first and revised edition of the novel, original editions of works by Romantic-era poets, illustrated materials from the history of science, and visual adaptations of the novel.
The exhibit is on display at the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, Irvin Department Gallery, through December 21, 2018. Hollings Library is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library at UofSC. This exhibit is free and open to the campus community and the public.
Saturday Open Gallery at the Hollings Library - Oct. 6
The Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library hosts a special Open Gallery one Saturday per month during the academic year.
Curator Jeanne Britton will give a tour of the featured fall exhibit, Frankenstein: 1818-2018, from 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Hollings Library Gallery. The gallery will be open on this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library. This event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
Frankenstein's Mother - a talk by scholar Paula Feldman Oct. 24
Who was Mary Shelley, author of the famous novel still so widely embraced by popular culture? How did a 19-year old conceive of such a startling idea, one that has riveted audiences for 200 years? UofSC professor Paula R. Feldman, a leading scholar of British Romanticism and co-editor of The Journals of Mary Shelley, offers her insights into a remarkable woman and how she created a science fiction classic.
Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library Program Room, 4 p.m. Hollings Library is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library at UofSC. This event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) film screening - Oct. 29
Join us at the Nickelodeon Theatre for a screening of this classic movie. Learn more.
Frankenstein Film Fest at Hollings Library - Oct. 30
Join us in the Hollings Library Program Room for this free Frankenstein movie festival:
5 p.m. Silent 1910 Edison Studios Frankenstein
5:30 p.m. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro
7:45 p.m. Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Boris Karloff
8:50 p.m. Silent 1910 Edison Studios Frankenstein
University Libraries Halloween Costume Contest - Oct. 29, 30, 31
Students, faculty, staff and members of the greater community are invited to participate in our first ever costume contest.
Take a photo of yourself in costume in the Frankenstein: 1818-2018 exhibit at Hollings Library gallery Oct. 29, 30 or 31 and post it to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook by midnight, Oct. 31 using the hashtag #uofscfrankenstein.
Five students will receive $100 cash prizes for these costume categories: best overall, best Frankenstein, most creative, best group of two or more people, and funniest.
Faculty, staff and members of the greater community will compete separately and receive non-cash prizes.
Frankenstein Reborn: Mary Shelley’s Radical Revisions panel discussion - Nov. 2
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein radically changed relationships between science and literature when it was published in 1818. But the novel itself radically changed when Shelley revised it for a new edition in 1831. Join three teachers and scholars of British Romanticism as they discuss how the appearance, content, and significance of the first work of science fiction were reborn just thirteen years after the monster was brought to life. (Chris Washington, Francis Marion University; Tony Jarrells, USC; Jeanne Britton, USC)
Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, Barrow Room, 2:30 p.m. Hollings Library is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library at UofSC. This event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
Saturday Open Gallery at the Hollings Library - Nov. 3
The Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library hosts special Open Galleries on select Saturdays throughout the academic year.
Chris Washington, professor at Francis Marion University, will give a talk, "Quantum Science in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Politics of Today," that examines modern lessons learned from this work penned 200 years ago. In the era of Standing Rock, Black Lives Matter, and the #MeToo movement, the novel's quantum science shows us that people are different at many levels. The novel argues that these differences can form the basis of a new type of politics that welcomes all genders, races, and even nonhumans into a powerful intersectional collective.
Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library Barrow Room, 10:30 a.m. Hollings Library is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library at UofSC. This event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
Frankenstein in Comics - Nov. 9
Join us in the Hollings Library SCPC Seminar Room for a talk about Frankenstein in comics. David Shay, from the Irvin Department, will discuss how this enduring horror icon continues to thrill us today through modern interpretations of Dr. Frankenstein’s creature.
Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library, SCPC Seminar Room, 1 p.m. Hollings Library is accessed through Thomas Cooper Library at UofSC. This event is free and open to the campus community and the public.
For more information about any of these events, contact us.