Susie P. Gonzalez

210-999-8406

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Trinity University to Celebrate Frankenstein Exhibit with ‘February Frankenfest’

February Frankenfest comes to Trinity University's Coates Library For more information go to: http://lib.trinity.edu/frank/ Jan. 17, 2003  -- A traveling exhibit that explores the mystique of Frankenstein in literature and film will be at the Coates Library at Trinity University for three weeks in February. Scheduled along with the exhibit are three public lectures, a panel discussion on the ethical issues of cloning, and a film festival, among other events. The exhibit, titled "Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature," will be on display Feb. 6-28. Opening night will feature a lecture by Heather Sullivan, associate professor of modern languages and literatures, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapman Center Auditorium. Professor Sullivan will speak on "Frankenstein's Body: A Horror Story of Sex, Reproduction, and Social Responsibility." Staff, faculty, students, and the San Antonio community are invited to don their favorite Frankenstein get-ups afterward to attend a costume party sponsored by Trinity’s Office of Conferences and Special Programs following the lecture in the Coates Library. Other events are: Feb. 11: Panel discussion on the ethics of cloning, 7:30 p.m. in the Gold Room at Chapman Center. Featured will be Trinity faculty members Mark Brodl, the Brackenridge Distinguished Professor of Biology; Bill Spinks, professor of English; Cynthia Gentry, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and the Rev. Stephen Nickle, University chaplain. Their topic is "To Clone or Not to Clone: Ethical Views from Science and Society." Feb. 20: Public lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapman Center Auditorium. Timothy Marshall of the University of East Anglia in England will present a lecture titled "Murdering to Dissect." Feb. 22-23: A film festival at various times in the afternoon and evening in the Fiesta Room. Specific times and titles will be announced, but organizers urge moviegoers "to prepare to be frightened, or to laugh"  and to come in costume while bringing both popcorn and a "well-tuned scream." Feb. 27: Public lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapman Center Auditorium. Susan E. Lederer of the History of Medicine Section at Yale University School of Medicine will discuss "Mary Shelley's Monster and Medical Science." Dr. Lederer is the exhibit’s curator. The exhibit was developed by the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association. It has been made possible by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C., and the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md. Participants of February Frankenfest come to discuss the numerous activities for the month It shows how playwrights, filmmakers, and the media have transformed Ms. Shelley's saga into one of the Western world's most enduring myths. The tale of a researcher's abuse of his power and failure to take responsibility for the monstrous being he created is a compelling human-interest story of ambition, idealism, revenge, and forgiveness.  Since its appearance in 1818, the Frankenstein story has been a symbol for public fears about dazzling new scientific techniques and research, which often challenge our understanding of what is “natural” and what it means to be human. The story of Frankenstein is often mentioned by the media when issues such as cloning, organ transplants, or genetically modified foods are in the news. On March 3, the exhibit will travel to the Briscoe Library at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for another three weeks. The two San Antonio libraries are among 80 libraries across the United States selected to host the traveling exhibit through December 2005. For more information about the exhibit at Trinity, visit http://lib.trinity.edu/frank/ or call the Coates Library at (210) 999-7343.

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Last updated on January 17, 2003 by the Office of Public Relations