Frank*ology, or the Thoroughly Modern Prometheus: A Re-vision of Sensualities in Romanticism from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (virtual conference)

West of Canon press seeks papers and presentations on Frankenstein from academics, artists, and folks across disciplines for a virtual conference celebrating the long legacy of this incredible book. We are looking for academic style papers as well as creative responses to Frankenstein and its related media.

A non-comprehensive list of what we’re hoping to see and include:

• Transgender identity (specifically transmasculinities) in Frankenstein and other works by the Romantics.

• Lake Geneva studies- Looking at Shelley-adjacent Romantics in a different light (discussions of polyamory and free love welcome.).

• The poetics of monstrosity

• Incest and queerness in Frankenstein

• Disability studies and Frankenstein

• Indigiqueer and racialized perspectives on Frankenstein

• Cinematic depictions of the creature, including Karloff, Warhol, Zelda Williams, Hammer Horror, James Whale etc.

• Theatre, music, and dance iterations of Frankenstein.

• Adaptations and responses ie. Frank Kiss Stein, Ex Machina, Penny Dreadful, Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Frankenstein in Baghdad, Junji Ito’s manga, Young Frankenstein, Danny Boyle’s stage adaptation with Benedict Cumberbatch

• Guillermo del Toro’s longstanding love affair with Frankenstein.

• Nautical queerness, eco-queerness and homoeroticism in Frankenstein

• The epistolary

• Phenomenology

• The cadaver and the soul; complicating ‘new life’ in Frankenstein via crime, race, religion etc.

• Filmic lore about Frankenstein which is parallel to canon but taken as truth; peg necks, Elizabeth as the Bride etc.

• Everyone’s Met Frankenstein: Frankenstein’s pop culture encounters with The Munsters, Scooby-Doo, Abbott and Costello, Alvin and the Chipmunks etc.

• Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley

• Frankenstein and queer collaboration.

• Mental Illness and neurodiversity.

• Frankenstein, editorial processes, and collaboration.

• Artificial Intelligence as Adam

• Short stories, poems, plays, songs, dance, art-works, etc.,

The conference will hopefully conclude with a viewing of Guillermo del Toro’s new adaptation of the work, which Netflix says is scheduled for November of this year, but we will have a firm date of Friday November 21, 2025. CV, artist’s statement, and abstracts of 200-500 words for a 20 minute presentation, panel or creative project can be sent to Oscar Anderson at editor@westofcanon.com by September 15. P While we’re not requiring content warnings for abstracts, please inform ahead if there’s any part of your presentation or abstract that flashes and/or contains bright light.