The Question

The question I want to consider now is: What does it mean to be human? Arguably, literary texts in charting human actions and emotions and so on, reflect back at us what makes us who we are? What makes us tick?

By looking at the monsters we create, we can learn what is means to be human and/or to be humane.

What Makes a Good Professor?

Rate My Professor

Come up with criteria for a good Professor. Start with the good ones you have had. The bad ones teach us just as much.

3 to 5 Criteria

Don’t pick just 1 and don’t pick 20. It needs to be reasonable. Pick the best one.

Grading Structure that makes sense.

  • 4 stars
  • 5 stars
  • A,B,C,D,F
  • 1-3
  • 1-4
  • 1-5
  • 1-10

Doesn’t matter. It just needs to make sense to you and your reader.

This is easy with professors and restaurants because we do it all the time. Now we will apply these to the monsters we are evaluating.

Monster Theory

We have been talking about Frankenstein the past few days. Which of the seven monster theories apply to it?

  1. Thesis I. The Monster’s Body Is a Cultural Body (4)
  2. Thesis II. The Monster Always Escapes (4)
  3. Thesis III. The Monster Is the Harbinger of Category Crisis (6)
  4. Thesis IV. The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference (7)
  5. Thesis V. The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible (12)
  6. Thesis VI. Fear of the Monster Is Really a Kind of Desire (16)
  7. Thesis VII. The Monster Stands at the Threshold . . . of Becoming (20)

Monster Theory Class Notes