Spark of Life
This project is designed as a collaboration between literature and science. The purpose of the assignment is two-fold. The first goal is to help students understand how Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is addressing cultural concerns of her time period. While Shelley’s work is widely credited as being a part a new genre, it is at its heart speculative fiction responding to the ideas that were groundbreaking at the time. Even as the novel can be appreciated for its perspective on gender and society, it directly addresses the cultural anxiety regarding scientific advancements, such as electricity.
The second objective is to show how literature can ask ethical questions in regard to science and its advancement. Together, this exercise provides a cross-disciplinary approach to a classic novel, which can be used in literature, science, and even ethics courses. Using Shelley’s work to discuss if the character Frankenstein is acting responsibly opens up the conversation of ethical responsibility in general, and specifically in regard to scientific research. This type of investigation can begin to dismantle what E. E. Homer refers to as science’s asocial standing in their article “Science, Science Fiction, and a Radical Science Education” (1981). Showing the connection between the novel, Frankenstein, and cultural fears emphasizes the connection between scientific advancement and the ethical quandaries often glossed over when exploring this realm. Shelley’s work directly addresses these ethical concerns in a way that can lead to valuable discussion about ethical scientific advancements of today.
An additional benefit of this approach is that the scientific background information provides students, who may not be comfortable with discussing traditional literary themes, an entry point into the text. These students may be able to connect with the idea of rapid scientific and technological innovation and the fears of that rapid growth that are a part of a normal cultural discussion. This connection could be especially important for science majors, many of whom may respond better if they can relate to the text through the concerns of their majors.
What is provided in this assignment is a PowerPoint giving an overview of scientific advancements of Shelley’s time and how those advancements were being explored for science and entertainment. It begins with Benjamin Franklin’s “discovery” of electricity, and ends with connections to current scientific advancements related to that watershed innovation. Included with the PowerPoint is a sample discussion question, which can be used in class or on an online discussion board asking students to make connections between the relationship between science and literature.
Discussion Prompt for Spark of Life
Shelley’s Frankenstein is a complex work that reflects her culture’s struggle to come to terms with new scientific innovations and humanity’s relationship with those innovations. Select one aspect from the Spark of Life PowerPoint, such as Miller’s experiments, and analyze how that element is portrayed in the novel. What does Shelley’s portrayal indicate about her culture’s view of that discovery?
Reference
Homer, E. E. (1981). Science, science fiction, and a radical science education. Science Fiction Studies, 311-330.
