Frankenstein to haunt Winona State

Frankenstein to haunt Winona State

Morgan Reddekopp, Editor-in-Chief

Starting Wednesday, Jan. 24, a series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein begins on campus.

The events begin with a public reading of the novel on Wednesday, Jan. 24, beginning at eight a.m. in Stark Hall. The reading will likely take up a great portion of the day, but students are encouraged to stop in and listen to sections of the novel.

Following the public reading will be a series of film adaptions of Frankenstein. The series of films will occur in Miller auditorium Monday, Jan. 29, Monday Feb. 19 and Sunday, Feb. 25. There will also be a discussion of the novel in Stark 103 on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

Anne-Marie Dunbar, a professor in the English department, shares that in planning the event, she wanted to create events that would help Winona State give recognition to the novel.

“We wanted to come up with a variety of events that would help us to celebrate this really important novel and its publication 200 years ago,” Dunbar said. “That is what we are trying to do with the read-a-thon. On Wednesday we will be reading the entire novel, starting at 8 a.m.”

Those in the English department also wanted to call attention to Shelley’s Frankenstein and its role in pop culture.

“We also wanted to celebrate the novel’s importance in popular culture, which is the focus of the film series,” Dunbar said. “I think that this series of events will allow us to bring together people from different corners of campus. This is certainly a book that is important not only in humanities, but also in sciences. A lot of students are reading Frankenstein in various classes, and it is always fun when you’re able to connect what you’re reading in the classroom to stuff that happening outside of the classroom.”

The films will vary from films created in the 1930s, to more recent films such as Frankenweenie. Noah Mruz, a first-year film studies major, is excited to see the questions that the film series raises.

“It’s important for students to see the various film adaptions of a timeless book that makes you question if we’re born good or evil, or if the way we’re raised molds us to be good or evil,” Mruz said.

Dunbar also shares that Shelley’s Frankenstein has played a large role in inspiring other artists.

“We wanted to also acknowledge that this novel has been so important in inspiring other artists and thinkers over time,” Dunbar said.

Mruz shared that he feels the series of events will be quite popular because of the wide variety of films chosen.

“I think [that] each movie has something different to offer, and each will have something for everyone to enjoy,” Mruz said.

The Frankenstein themed events offer a great variety of events and hope to please everyone.

“I hope people will come and check out one or more of the events,” Dunbar said. “I think that one of the best parts of being in college is that there are always a lot of really interesting events to go to.”