Tag Archives: science fiction

Frankenstein: The Books That Made The Monster – Tuesday 13 November 2018, 6pm

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Copyright Alejandro Colucci

The teenage author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, was an avid reader, as her detailed diaries reveal. But her most iconic creations, Victor Frankenstein and his Monster, are fatally corrupted by their own exposure to books. Frankenstein immerses himself in the occult sciences, while the Monster turns evil after learning about humanity’s misdeeds in Paradise Lost, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and the Bible, among other things.

This talk, by Dr Daniel Cook from the University of Dundee, traces Shelley’s reading habits before and during the composition of her Gothic  masterpiece, and considers the devilish role played by books in her most famous work of fiction.

Everyone is welcome. This event is free and non-bookable. Places are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 5pm.

Creating Comics: A Celebration of H.G. Wells – Tuesday 1st November 2016

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H.G. Wells is one of the most influential science fiction writers of all time. Among his many works are The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The ImageInvisible Man, which brought futuristic, new ideas to life and showed us glimpses of today’s, and tomorrow’s, World.

Prof Chris Murray, University of Dundee, will explore the adaptations of H. G. Wells’ stories in comics, and will give an insight into the creative process behind comics. There will also be an opportunity to have a sneak peak of the new comic featuring adaptation of H.G.Wells’ stories being created at the University of Dundee. The talk and discussion will finish at 7pm. This event will be followed by a 30 minute special  session demonstrating how to create your very own comic strip (no drawing skills necessary).

This event is part of ‘H G Wells at 150: Hope and Fear’, a series of events that celebrate the great writer’s 150th birthday and is supported by the University of Dundee as the Scottish hub of the national Being Human festival (17th – 25th November).

Everyone is welcome. This event is free and non-bookable. Places are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 5pm.

H.G.Wells and Cinema – Turning Science Fiction into Science Fact – 1st November 2011

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An illustration of George Pal's 1960 model of the Time MachineThe  McManus Cafe, Dundee hosted this  short talk and discussion on science fiction and the dawn of cinema.

This event covered H.G.Wells’s most famous story The Time Machine and a range of his other short stories.

Dr. Keith Williams from the University of Dundee discussed how each text imagined the visual technology of the future. Drawing on the cutting-edge science of the late 19th Century, Wells was able to predict the development of new media including cinema, television, virtual reality…..even the internet!

In particular Wells’s writings on how we observe the World influenced one of Britain’s pioneering film-makers, R.W.Paul at the very dawn of the cinematic age.

Dundee Science Festival logoThis event was proud to be part of the 2011 Dundee Science Festival programme.