Dr. Elizabeth Young, author of Black Frankenstein, will discuss the racial metaphors that invoke Frankenstein in American literature, films, paintings and discourse. Her talk will address the seemingly contradictory ways the Frankenstein story has been used, from providing a metaphor to critique racism to reinforcing racial stereotypes. Dr. Young will examine ways that the Frankenstein metaphor is relevant in the United States, including racial violence, politics, and contemporary culture.

Dr. Elizabeth Young is the Carl M. and Elsie A. Small Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. In addition to Black Frankenstein, she is the author of Disarming the Nation: Women's Writing and the American Civil War and co-author of On Alexander Gardner's "Photographic Sketch Book" of the Civil War. Dr. Young teaches courses in women writers, feminist theory, American literature, and film. Her scholarship analyzes intersections among gender, race, and sexuality in American culture.

This talk is sponsored by the Duquesne University Department of English and Theater Studies and the Gumberg Library as part of the National Library of Medicine poster exhibit, Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature.

Image: Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature exhibition logo. Courtesy National Library of Medicine