Paul Cantor Complete Work — Paul A. Cantor

Science and Literature of the 19th Century Introduction

This course will study the impact of science on nineteenth-century literature and in particular the development of science fiction as a genre, with emphasis on the epoch-making works of H. G. Wells. We will examine the ways in which science posed a challenge to literature and called into question the very notion of artistic truth.

Literature & Science 19thVirginiaJune 2, 2024

Frankenstein

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in this lecture series on 19th century Literature and Science. Lectures

Tennyson's In Memoriam

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Tennyson's In Memoriam in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

Literature & Science 19th, Science Fiction, PoetryVirginiaJune 2, 2024Science Fiction, Tennyson

Darwin's Origin of Species Lectures

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Darwin’s Origin of Species in this lecture series. Lecture

Literature & Science 19th, Science FictionVirginiaJune 2, 2024Darwin, Science Fiction

Robert Browning Caliban upon Setebos

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Robert Browning’s Caliban upon Setebos in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

Edwin Abbott's Flatland

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Edwin Abbott's Flatland in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

Literature & Science 19th, Science FictionVirginiaJune 2, 2024Science Fiction

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

Literature & Science 19th, Science FictionVirginiaJune 2, 2024Science Fiction

Elizabeth Gaskell Wives & Daughters

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives & Daughters in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

H.G. Wells's The Time Machine Lectures

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine in this lecture series on 19th century Literature and Science. Lecture

H.G. Wells's Island of Dr. Moreau Lectures

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains H.G. Wells’s Island of Dr. Moreau in this lecture series on 19th century Literature and Science. Lecture

H.G. Wells's The War of the Worlds Lectures

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds in this lecture series on 19th century Literature and Science. Lecture

Joseph Conrad The Secret Agent

Paul Cantor analyzes and explains Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent in this lecture series from Science and Literature course. Lecture

The Invisible Man and the Invisible Hand: H.G. Wells’s Critique of Capitalism

The Invisible Man provides a vehicle for exploring a larger set of economic and political problems that preoccupied him throughout his career. Essay

Macbeth of Meth

Breaking Bad and the tragedy of Walter White. Essay

Popular CultureVirginiaMarch 1, 2022Breaking Bad, Macbeth, Shakespeare, American Dream

Can TV Be High Art

If Shakespeare were alive today, would he write for television? Cantor and Kristol discuss the medium of TV. Paul Cantor explains what can we learn about contemporary America from our popular TV shows. Conversation

Popular CultureVirginiaFebruary 5, 2022Bill Kristol, Conversation, Video, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Wes, Popular Culture

Pro Wrestling and the End of History

The state of professional wrestling today thus provides clues as to what living at the end of history means. It suggests how a large segment of American society is trying to cope with the emotional letdown that followed upon the triumph of capitalism and liberal democracy. Essay

Popular CultureVirginiaFebruary 1, 2022Popular Culture, Wrestling, Political Theory, Television

Mars Attacks!: Burton, Tocqueville, and the Self-Organizing Power of the American People

Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! comically subverts the ideology of the standard American flying saucer movies of the 1950s. They celebrated the federal government as the American people’s savior, portraying a military-scientific elite dealing effectively with extraterrestrial threats to the US. Burton’s film debunks elites and suggests that a motley assortment of ordinary people would be more successful in dealing with an invasion from Mars. Chapter 4

Maverick Creators and Maverick Heroes

The introduction to Part Two of The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture, “Maverick Creators and Maverick Heroes” Introduction

Popular CultureVirginiaJuly 4, 2020The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture

Order Out of the Mud: Deadwood and the State of Nature

This chapter analyzes the television series Deadwood in terms of the philosophical concept of the state of nature. The show raises the question of whether a community should be ordered from the top down or from the bottom up. Deadwood goes to the heart of the central issue of the Western: is it possible to have order without law? Chapter 3

The Original Frontier

This chapter shows that Gene Roddenberry’s experience writing for the television Western Have Gun—Will Travel introduced him to many of the motifs and themes he later developed in Star Trek. It thus provides a case study of the hidden connections between the Western and science fiction. It also uncovers the tension between elites and common people in the mythology of the Western. Chapter 2

Popular CultureVirginiaJuly 1, 2020The Invisible Hand in Popular Culture