International Conference, Venice, 21-22 February 2018
University of Venice – Cà Foscari
The Bicentenary Conference on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
contact email: maria.parrino@unive.itEver since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was first published (1818), the story of the scientist and the Creature has been constantly and widely told, discussed, adapted, filmed, and translated, making generations of readers approach the novel in an extraordinary variety of ways and languages. The myth of the ‘modern Prometheus’ which Mary Shelley invented has been passed down throughout the centuries and morphed into countless shapes and figures contributing to the enhancement of the original text.
If first-time readers are surprised to discover that Frankenstein is not the name of the monster, and that in fact the monster has no name, all readers are given the opportunity to discover that the novel is a sort of encyclopedia, a text which explores different disciplines, from science to sociology, from psychology to medicine, from history to geography. Moreover, the numerous critical approaches to the text, varying from psychoanalytic, Marxist, feminist, deconstructionist, to ecocritic, all point out the multi-faceted features of the novel.
Although it is difficult to add new and original interpretations of Frankenstein, the pressure and the pleasure to celebrate the novel remains strong and authentic. In this spirit, the conference welcomes participants to share old and new interpretations, and contributes to the promotion of the worldwide events which will be held in 2018, all paying tribute to what is unarguably one of the most famous novels in world literature. When Mary Shelley, in her long Introduction to the1831 edition, wrote about the ‘invention’ of Frankenstein, she did not know that two hundred years later others would enjoy ‘moulding and fashioning’ her original idea, fulfilling the writer’s wish for her ‘hideous progeny [to] go forth and prosper’.
This conference aims to explore, analyse, and debate Mary Shelley’s novel and bicentenary, its reception in European culture and its influence on the media.
Possible topics include but are not limited to:
Frankenstein: the 1818 and 1831 version
Mary Shelley’s biography
Frankenstein and translations
Frankenstein and multilingualism
Multicultural Frankenstein
Frankenstein and the visual arts
Frankenstein and films
Frankenstein and adaptations
The reception of Frankenstein
Teaching Frankenstein
Publishing Frankenstein
Papers may be given in English, Italian, French and Spanish. Please send 200 words abstract for a 20-minute paper to Michela Vanon Alliata, Alessandro Scarsella and Maria Parrino at
frankensteinvenice@libero.it by 1 November 2017.
Scientific committee
Michela Vanon Alliata, Università di Venezia
Alessandro Scarsella, Università di Venezia
Maria Parrino, Università di Venezia
