In the Frankenstein seminar today (all about science in Frankenstein) we talked about whether it's surprising that the first science fiction book was written by a girl, whether Victor is a good scientist, and whether science is actually worth it.

In the Arthurian legend "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," Sir Gawain's symbol is the pentagram. The legend treats it as a Christian symbol, representing the five wounds of Christ and the five virtues of knighthood, in contrast to the Green Knight's pagan imagery. #FolkyFriday

From now until Halloween all monster courses at Clockworks Academy are 15% off! Just use the code “SPOOKY” at checkout! clockworksacademy.com

The King Arthur Course Part One: A Fine Romance begins on Friday! Sign up and join us! In this course we'll read about a third of Le Morte Darthur together. There's no homework but reading, no prerequisites, and you can take it from anywhere. clockworksacademy.com/courses/malory…

The Beowulf Course at Clockworks Academy next begins on Friday the 11th. In this eight-week course on Beowulf we'll read the whole poem, and talk all about monsters, violence, heroism, tribalism, Old English poetry and more! clockworksacademy.com/courses/beowul…

Do any of my friends or followers have marketing expertise and might be willing to give me some advice?

Very astute take here. In particular, he's exactly right about slow zombies symbolizing the inevitably of death on one hand and how it always seems avoidable in the short term on the other. One thing I'd add, though, is that fast zombies have their OWN symbolic weight.

Some people love scary and gory stuff in general. If that's you, the Zombies Course will give you a chance to watch and read some stuff you are bound to love and explore some of its depths in a low-stakes academic setting! It starts Friday. Join us! clockworksacademy.com/courses/zombie…

The Zombies Course begins today and the Medieval Werewolves Course begins next Friday, and both are on sale until Halloween! Use the code "SPOOKY" for a 15% discount! But only until Halloween, so act now!! clockworksacademy.com/courses

My daughter's choir is going to Greece! Please help us raise the money to send her! Your generosity will mean the world to her and to us! gofund.me/a5beeb6a

Our fund to send Guinevere to Greece for her choir trip is growing! Thank you so much! I've adjusted the goal because of some generous donations off-line, but a lot of the fees are due by December! Please share, and every little bit is appreciated! gofund.me/982adb3a

We've just passed 20% of our goal, which is very generous of people who have contributed! Can you help? gofund.me/ea158e7b

Part One of the Canterbury Tales Course begins on Friday the 21st of February! Come join us! You don't have to have read any of the Canterbury Tales before, and in this course we'll be doing all the best-known tales! clockworksacademy.com/courses/chau...