Welcome to SPACE, our adult continuing education program which offers interactive monthly courses for personal enrichment! Learn more here.

 Launchpad  Hybrid
Mixed Lecture/Discussion • Low intensity
One of the most relevant novels you could read right now was written almost two centuries ago. Mary Shelley’s The Last Man asks what it means to be human while living in unprecedented times. This 1826 classic of apocalyptic science fiction considers the implications of a global pandemic, a rapidly changing environment, and the failures of political and social institutions. Part imaginative autobiography, part science fictional warning, and part ecocritical thought experiment, The Last Man forces us to examine our assumptions about our present and future.

In this module we will consider Mary Shelley’s novel in the context of her life, times, and intellectual history. We will also explore the afterlife of The Last Man in critical discussions of the ominously similar challenges we face in the 21st century. In the process, we will discuss the novel’s lasting meanings and contributions as pioneering work of speculative fiction.

The module will follow an 8-session structure as shown below:
Outline 8-Session Structure
Week 1 Lecture 1: The Last Man
Discussion 1: Introduction and Volume 1
Week 2 Lecture 2: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Discussion 2: Volume 2
Week 3 Lecture 3: Inspirations and Ancestor Texts
Discussion 3: Volume 3
Week 4 Lecture 4: Pandemic and Post-Apocalyptic Literature
Discussion 4: Themes and Takeaways

Required Texts

The Last Man by Mary Shelley (any version). There is a free ebook version available through Project Gutenberg and a free audiobook version available through Librivox.

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This will be a Hybrid class (4 lectures & 4 discussion sessions). Each week will consist of 1 hour of recorded lecture and 1 hour of live discussion (not recorded) for a total of 8 class hours over the course of the month.

DELIVERY PLAN
1. The first session each week will be a lecture session (pre-recorded), shared with all students at least three days before the live discussion session.
2. The second session each week will be a live discussion session (not recorded).

Days and Times

As soon as we obtain enough interest in this class we will be in touch to work out a meeting time that works for the group. Thank you for keeping your Blackberry availability up to date!

If you have any questions about the SPACE program, please reach out to [email protected].