In tandem with a national traveling exhibit at EIU’s Booth Library, Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature, the English Department of Eastern Illinois University (EIU) and the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) presents EIU’s Sixteenth Annual Literature Conference for Teachers and Lovers of Good Books, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

This conference of lectures and workshops, funded as part of IHC’s True Learning, True Teaching seminar program, will feature various EIU English Department faculty members, Betty T. Bennett, Professor of Literature at the American University in Washington D.C. and Stefani Engelstein, Assistant Professor of German at the University of Missouri.

Participants may earn up to six Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) toward certification renewal. For further information please call 217-581-5116.

Betty T. Bennett

Betty T. Bennett is a Professor of Literature as the American University in Washington D.C. A distinguished scholar of Romantic literature and the Shelley circle, she served as literary consultant in the development of Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature, a nationally-touring exhibit sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Professor Bennett will present the Plenary Session, Unmasking Monsters: Science, Politics, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Stefani Engelstein

Stefani Engelstein is an Assistant Professor of German at the University of Missouri. Her research focuses on intersections between the Life sciences and British and German literature in the Romantic period. She has published on such topics as Williams Blake and obstetrics, Heinrich von Kleist and amputation, and E.T.A. Hoffmann and the mechanics or reproduction. She is completing a book entitled Anxious Anatomy: The Conception of the Human Form in Literary and Naturalist Discourse. Professor Engelstein will present the Plenary Session, The Mirror and the Knife: Dissecting the Science of Life in Frankenstein.

Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature

Booth Library will host this traveling exhibition, from October 17 through November 22, 2005. The exhibition encourages audiences to examine Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, and its influence on science fiction, monsters and their place in history, and man playing God. Several educational programs, lectures films, contests and related exhibits are planned to coincide with the event.

The exhibition, funded through a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is based on a large exposition produced by the National Library of Medicine, which then developed and helped fund the national traveling exhibition in collaboration with the American Library Association Public Programs Office. In addition to exploring Mary Shelly and Frankenstein, the exhibition promotes reflection on the personal and societal views of “responsibility” as they relate to science and other areas of life.

Booth Library invites you to explore this fascinating exhibition, read the novel, and participate in the related discussions and activities. Visit Booth Library’s website for additional information related to library hours and the schedule of concurrent events related to the exhibition or call the Reference department at (217) 581-6072.

For further information, read Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature by Susan E. Lederer and Elizabeth Fee.

For further information on the conference, please call 217-581-5116.