Episode 4: You Heard the Lecture, Now Meet the Scholar Behind It with Brian Gutierrez

Forever Curious: An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Podcast

Brian Gutierrez, PhD, earned his doctorate in Literature, and he taught for many years in the English Department at the University of Washington. Now a Professional Programs Development Specialist, he helps professionals translate their work experience and industry expertise into academic curricula.

As Brian tells us in this conversation with host Murray Urquhart, at this time in the UK, Gothic and ghost stories were all the rage. And Mary Shelley was eager to add a story to the shelves of horror. Brian tells us how she went from initial writers' block to a terrifying waking dream that evolved into Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus.

Brian takes us on a journey through the culture, the ideology, and the philosophy of the time, especially the science, literature, and company Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was immersed in.

If Frankenstein was thoroughly a product of its time, why does it still hold such fascination for current generations? And how did the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his nameless creature change and shift from Shelley's vision (pun intended!) to Boris Karloff and Herman Munster?

Hear about the story filtered in part through the lens of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History. Modern versions of the novel can be a significant departure from Shelley's original story. Is it among the "overlooked and misunderstood"? Should we make the effort to go back and reclaim the story the way it was written?

Learn the deep history and culture surrounding one of the most iconic — if not entirely understood — stories in English literature from an expert and engaging speaker! Then check out the other offerings by Brian and other subject matter experts at OLLI - UW: https://www.osher.uw.edu/

Forever Curious is produced by Audiotocracy Podcast Production.