Campuses turn to celebration of Frankenstein novel

In a grotesque experiment gone both right and wrong, a scientist reanimates living body parts to produce a monstrous creation that can think and feel. Throughout the murder, chaos and passion, much is learned about humanity. This year the “Frankenstein” monster turns 200.

MUSC’s bicentennial celebration of Mary Shelley’s gothic novel “Frankenstein” will feature an evening of discussion with an interdisciplinary panel of experts.

The program, Faces of Frankenstein: Health, Science, Diversity and Literature in Film, will take place Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at Basic Science Building Auditorium (Room 100). The event is sponsored collaboratively by the new Office of Humanities (within MUSC’s Center for Academic Excellence) and the College of Charleston. Its purpose is to provide a retrospective of the 200-year-old novel, which has been used to explore biomedical ethics, technology and social media relate to the book and how it influences today’s innovations and discoveries especially in such areas as stem cell research, organ donation and harvesting, cloning, genetic testing and animal to human transplants.

Office of Humanities director and professor Lisa Kerr, Ph.D., turned to MUSC Imagine 2020 administrative fellow Jo Sullivan to initiate the planning. Kerr also wanted to involve long-time University Humanities Committee colleague and College of Charleston associate professor Kathy Béres Rogers, Ph.D., in the collaboration. Rogers, who teaches British Romanticism in the Department of English at the college, was able to recruit history department colleague Scott Poole, Ph.D. an expert on monsters in American history to share his expertise in film.

“Shelly’s novel, like most great literature, is both a product of its time and a timeless text with themes that remain relevant in the 21st century,” said Kerr. “At its heart, it’s a novel about how our desire to understand and improve the world must be approached not only with knowledge and innovation but with empathy, compassion, reflection and a sense of civic responsibility.”

The program’s panel was carefully selected according to Rogers. The five panel participants include experts in humanities, film, diversity and inclusion and women’s health.

“One of my interests in reading this text is the issue of post-partum depression. In the novel, Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s rejection of the creature immediately after his ‘birth” is very reminiscent of how author Mary Shelley, a young mother, may have felt. That’s why we invited Dr. Angela Dempsey, a specialist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” said Beres.

To coincide with the Feb. 27 event, the Office of Humanities sponsored a Frankenstein “Monster Read” event, distributing books and challenging students and other participants to read Shelley’s book and form small reading groups across campus to discuss it. According to Kerr, the Monster Read event has already surpassed expectations with at least one group formed in each of MUSC’s six colleges, as well as several other groups representing MUSC Health.

“This has been especially exciting because our goal in the Office of Humanities is to build bridges between the university and MUSC Health to help remind us that we are one place,” Kerr said.

Both Kerr and Rogers hope the Frankenstein initiative sparks conversations about compassionate care, effective communication and responsible innovation – factors that do affect patient care and outcomes among the MUSC faculty, staff and students and the greater Charleston community. Kerr also hopes programs like this help the campus community understand that the arts and humanities provide methods for investigating issues related to the health sciences.

“It’s through the humanities that we learn, for example, how various individuals experience an illness and what barriers they may face in seeking care. The humanities also help us develop, communication, observation and analytical skills. If we teach students these things, we better prepare them to deliver high-quality, patient-and family-centered care,” Kerr said.

As for the new Office of Humanities, Kerr hopes to continue hosting more common reading experiences each year. Following the Frankenstein Monster Read, her team will survey participants and make improvements. The group will also launch a new Scholars of Humanities and Arts in Research and Education (SHARE) grants program to help with scholarship and research in the arts, humanities and health.