The Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized Peer Webinar: Chapter 11 on 19th September, 2022 at 7 pm. The speaker was Ms. Sayantani Sengupta; her paper was titled “Frankenstein’s (Inter)Textual Monster: Authorship, Immortality and Death.” The webinar was held on Google Meet; it was attended by faculty members and the PG Semester IV students of the Department of English.
The Peer Webinars are a unique monthly endeavour by the Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College that has facilitated an amiable atmosphere for the exchange of research ideas. In the eleventh chapter of this series of webinars, Ms. Sayantani Sengupta evaluated how far Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein might hold up as an allegory of literary creation embedded in an intertextual network. Kaleidoscopic in its meaning and significance, Frankenstein has revealed itself to be more than a simple story of a man playing God, trying to bend the rules of nature in order to save mankind from the agony of death and diseases. It may also be analysed as a tale of literary creation, a story of attaining immortality through creation, and shielding oneself from time-mandated obscurity.
The presentation began with an assessment of the human need to create; followed by a comparison between God, Prometheus and the figure of the author and their creative methods. Taking examples from the text, the presentation further considered whether Victor Frankenstein, as “the Modern Prometheus,” by giving life to a Creature which is a conglomeration of dismembered parts and organs harvested from different sources, actually “authors” it and, by extension, if the Creature’s desire to annihilate his creator is symbolic of a text’s desire to break free from the monologic tyranny of the author. While Victor Frankenstein does manage to create an animate being, his creature is not born ex-nihilo and the presentation delved into the implications of Victor Frankentein’s failed endeavour in the context of post-structuralist literary theory, especially those of Barthes and Kristeva.
The presentation concluded with a study of how far Victor Frankenstein, as an author, was limited by his creation and how far his reality limited the existence of his created being. The presentation was followed by a hearty discussion on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the nuances of scriptor/writer binary and the need to explore the literary implications of Victor Frankenstein’s refusal to create a female monster from a feminist perspective.
Peer Webinar has enabled scholars with varying research interests, temperaments and thrust-areas to present their ideas on this platform, thus enriching the listeners through an exposure to diverse academic areas and possible greener pasture.
When Men of Valour and Commitment Secure Our Nation’s Boundaries, We Sleep in Peace. In the summer of 1999, on the coldest peaks of Kargil, the nation’s brave sons fought relentlessly to safeguard their nation’s integrity while putting up a tough fight against the Pakistani troops. In this journey, many were martyred, many were injured …
“The secret of going ahead is getting stared” -Mark Twain Everything after all, begins with an idea, and that was the focus of the “Ideation” session. The Bhawanipur entrepreneurship and start-ups training collective hosted the session with the goal of giving students an understanding of how business ideas are generated. The session was held …
“Performing Arts, Quiz, Fashion, International Affairs – The Bhawanipur Education Society College (BESC) has it all. Like they say, something for everyone, except all those of us, who love accounts” had rued one student who was not content with the window dressing and wanted to highlight his love for the subject and the highlight the …
The greatest writer of all times, ‘Leo Tolstoy’ was given a heart warming tribute on 27th August at the Library session organised by the AIM collective.
Peer Webinar: Chapter 11
The Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College organized Peer Webinar: Chapter 11 on 19th September, 2022 at 7 pm. The speaker was Ms. Sayantani Sengupta; her paper was titled “Frankenstein’s (Inter)Textual Monster: Authorship, Immortality and Death.” The webinar was held on Google Meet; it was attended by faculty members and the PG Semester IV students of the Department of English.
The Peer Webinars are a unique monthly endeavour by the Department of English, The Bhawanipur Education Society College that has facilitated an amiable atmosphere for the exchange of research ideas. In the eleventh chapter of this series of webinars, Ms. Sayantani Sengupta evaluated how far Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein might hold up as an allegory of literary creation embedded in an intertextual network. Kaleidoscopic in its meaning and significance, Frankenstein has revealed itself to be more than a simple story of a man playing God, trying to bend the rules of nature in order to save mankind from the agony of death and diseases. It may also be analysed as a tale of literary creation, a story of attaining immortality through creation, and shielding oneself from time-mandated obscurity.
The presentation began with an assessment of the human need to create; followed by a comparison between God, Prometheus and the figure of the author and their creative methods. Taking examples from the text, the presentation further considered whether Victor Frankenstein, as “the Modern Prometheus,” by giving life to a Creature which is a conglomeration of dismembered parts and organs harvested from different sources, actually “authors” it and, by extension, if the Creature’s desire to annihilate his creator is symbolic of a text’s desire to break free from the monologic tyranny of the author. While Victor Frankenstein does manage to create an animate being, his creature is not born ex-nihilo and the presentation delved into the implications of Victor Frankentein’s failed endeavour in the context of post-structuralist literary theory, especially those of Barthes and Kristeva.
The presentation concluded with a study of how far Victor Frankenstein, as an author, was limited by his creation and how far his reality limited the existence of his created being. The presentation was followed by a hearty discussion on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the nuances of scriptor/writer binary and the need to explore the literary implications of Victor Frankenstein’s refusal to create a female monster from a feminist perspective.
Peer Webinar has enabled scholars with varying research interests, temperaments and thrust-areas to present their ideas on this platform, thus enriching the listeners through an exposure to diverse academic areas and possible greener pasture.
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