The Frankenstein Prophecies

Course Description

Based on a close reading of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, this course explores multiple ways her story is a re-telling of the mythic tale of Prometheus and the Christian story of creation within the context of science and technology. As such, Shelley’s story haunts our time as a prophetic unfolding of the origins of technological power.

Using a Jungian-Archetypal approach, this course takes up these prophetic amplifications as a collective symptom that calls us to remember what we have forgotten regarding our place within nature and the cosmos.

This course is ideal if

• You are interested in exploring a Jungian perspective on the troubles facing our world today. 
• You want to learn more about the archetypal patterns that influence and shape our current culture.
• You are interested in viewing major life themes such as the Feminine, war, death, life, evil and belonging through an Archetypal lens.

Course Overview

Class 1: A presentation of the seven prophetic themes in Mary Shelley’s original story

Class 2: Technology as Cultural Symptom and Collective Dream

Class 3: Stealing Fire from the Gods: Titanic Hubris

Class 4: Conceived by Man, not Born of Woman

Class 5: Flight from Death

Class 6: The Eichmann Complex

Class 7: The Last Generation?

Class 8: The Orphan

Class 9: Fire and Ice

Class 10: What are Poets for in a destitute time?

By the end of this course, you will

• Understand some of the archetypal dynamics that give form to our current culture and the world today.
• Be better able to navigate the challenges facing us and the world today by understanding the archetypal patterns playing out.
• Have an understanding of the prophetic topics in Frankenstein and how they can be applied to our current times.