Monsters and the Monstrous

Catalog description

This theme of the monster figure has a special relevance for us as we take on new challenges in life, since we can all relate to the experience of feeling like an outsider. The monster is a metaphor that represents the tension between our individuality and the pressure within a community to conform, to be homogeneous, or to be silent. After our initial exploration of your first-year experience as a college student at Le Moyne, we will examine the source text, myth, and cultural legacy of the story of Frankenstein. Discussions will toggle between text and context (especially art and cultural perceptions of the role of the artist), historical and contemporary reasons why individual writers and readers and filmmakers and viewers have become a profoundly interested in this narrative. Class discussions will work toward a better understanding of the relations among identity, creativity, and culture.