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In Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, the scientist Victor Frankenstein refuses to obey the wishes of his monstrous creation and make a female of the same species. If the two creatures were to procreate, he reflects, “a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth who might make the very existence of the species of man a condition precarious and full of terror.” In revenge, the monster hunts down Frankenstein and kills his bride on their wedding night, ensuring that Frankenstein’s only progeny remains the monster himself.
We are proud to announce this years Edward W. Said Memorial Lecturer, Professor Moustafa Bayoumi. A former student of Edward Said’s, Professor Bayoumi is currently a professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY).
Princeton University hosted a reading of Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel Frankenstein, which is celebrating its bicentennial this year. Each night was dedicated to one volume of the novel. This event, presented by Princeton’s English Department and Humanities Council, belonged to the worldwide Frankenreads initiative organized by the Keats-Shelley Association of America.
On Monday, Oct. 22nd, Leigh Raiford, Associate Professor & H. Michael and Jeanne Williams Chair in African American Studies, University of California, Berkeley, presented “Burning All Illusion: Abstraction, Black Life, and the Unmaking of White Supremacy” as part of the ongoing Intersections Working Group series. The event was hosted by Professor Autumn Womack and co-sponsored by the departments of English and African American Studies.
An exhibition celebrating the 200th anniversary of the release of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, prepared in coordination with the “Frankenstein at 200” programming lead by Professor Susan Wolfson of the English department. Learn more about upcoming related talks, lectures and events at:
Frankenstein200
The reading commences on Halloween and continues over the next two evenings, Nov. 1 and 2, from 6:30-10:30 p.m. in the Chancellor Green Rotunda. Princeton’s Frankenread is free and open to the public.
In the 19th century, printing technology changed the way readers experienced texts. Today, students and researchers are using digital technology to access historical literary texts in new ways and finding surprising echoes of the past in their own lives.
ENG 300 Junior Seminar students, Jonathan Alicea, John Baek, Caroline Bailey, Seb Benzecry, Alex Chien, Destiny Eisenhour, Todd Gilman, David Loughran, Christian Novogratz, Abby Spare, Manuel Torres-Llompart, Jacob Wheeler, Chamari White-Mink, Charity Young and Professor Russ Leo standing in front of McCosh Hall.
Professor Nigel Smith and his junior seminar students, Tessa Albertson, Kwame Amaning, Emma Hopkins, Seamus McDonough, Pamela McGowen, Henry McGrath, Alexander Paternostro, Rasheeda Saka, TJ Smith, Sylvie Thode and Alice Xu.
Junior seminar students class photo.
PU English majors attended a production of Underground Railroad Game at Soho Theatre followed by dinner at Hoppers, a well-known Sri Lankan restaurant.
Alumni author Monica Pelaez ’97 featured in PAW article.
AT HOME IN THE WORLD: Women Writers and Public Life, from Austen to the Present, a book by Maria diBattista and Deborah Nord, is one of four titles shortlisted for the 2018 Christian Gauss Award of Phi Beta Kappa. The award is one of three that Phi Beta Kappa confers, and it’s meant to celebrate outstanding books in the field of literary scholarship or criticism.
Claudia L Johnson's edition of Jane Austen's The Beautifull Cassandra, which she wrote when she was about 12, has been released.
“Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech,” will be distributed to all undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and interested staff.
This year’s Bread Loaf fellows, Annabel Barry, Julia Mosby, and Lucina Schwartz, have been making the most of Oxford and its environs!
Diana Fuss, Simon Gikandi and four other Princeton professors talk about how the books on their shelves relate to their work and share what’s on their summer reading lists. We also have some movie recommendations.
Read the full story on the University website.
English major, Emma Watkins, who graduated in June, combined her interests in folklore, feminist music theater and environmental studies to write a play about the mythical Welsh figure Rhiannon.
Each year during Reunions the English Department invites Princeton alums to join us for an hour of poetry and conversation.
Class of 2020 members (from left to right) Kenji Cataldo, Rasheeda Saka, Jaylin Lugardo, Oluwatoyin Edogun and Matthew Oakland are among the six Princeton students named as 2018 Mellon Mays fellows. Yousef Elzalabany is not pictured.