RLGN 245: GODS, MONSTERS, and MACHINES: FROM FRANKENSTEIN TO WESTWORLD and BEYOND

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mold Me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?” (Paradise Lost)

This course traces questions about relations between Gods, monsters, and machines from biblical tradition (e.g., the biblical book of Job) through modern horror (e.g., Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and related movies) and science fiction (e.g., Bladerunner and HBO’s Westworld) into contemporary fantasies and nightmares about emerging technologies of artificial intelligence, deep learning, and artificial life. Job, Frankenstein‘s monster, Bladerunner‘s replicants, and Westworld‘s hosts all beg us to ask: Who is the real monster — the creature or its creator