CFP Frank*ology, or the Thoroughly Modern Prometheus: A Re-vision of Sensualities in Romanticism from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (virtual conference) (9/15/2025; online 11/21/2025)

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

deadline for submissions:
September 15, 2025

full name / name of organization:
West of Canon Press

contact email:
editor@westofcanon.com

source: https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2025/06/24/frankology-or-the-thoroughly-modern-prometheus-a-re-vision-of-sensualities-in



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. 

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.


Last updated June 26, 2025