In Conversation with… Robert Romanyshyn

Lecture Description

Robert Romanyshyn’s book, Victor Frankenstein, the Monster and the Shadows of Technology: The Frankenstein Prophecies, tells Mary Shelley’s story from the Monster’s point of view. Created and abandoned by his maker, he carries the nightmare side of Frankenstein’s noble but flawed dream to be a new god who would banish death from the human condition.

Through a series of eight questions based on Mary Shelley’s work, The Frankenstein Prophecies shows not only how Victor Frankenstein’s story and the Monster’s tale continue to haunt us in the guises of: climate crises with their destructive impact on nature; the terrorism of the ‘god wars’ among our major religions; the swelling worldwide population of refugees; the loss of place in digital space; and the ways in which our genetic and computer technologies are redefining what it means to be a human being without a body.

It also shows that the question ‘Who is the Monster?’ is the essence of a radical ethics, which lies at the heart of this story. The Monster’s tale also cultivates the seed of Mary Shelley’s story as a love story.

Who would enjoy this lecture

• Considering Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a practical framework to understand and navigate the pearls and perils of our time.
• The relevance of Mary Shelley’s work for the era we are living in.
• Developing a depth psychological perspective on technology and its impact on our individual and collective unconscious.