[SOLD OUT!] The Gothic Science of Dracula with the Mütter Museum | In-Person Course

Registration

• Tuition for this course is $200. 10% off for Rosenbach members and the Delancey Society. Not a member? Learn more.
• This course is limited to participants who are 18 years of age or older.
• This course is held in person at the Rosenbach and the Mütter Museum.
• Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email [email protected].
• Registration opens for Delancey Society members on November 14, for members on November 21, and for the general public on November 28.

Register for the waitlist

Course Description

Bram Stoker’s novel features more than just blood-sucking monsters and dark imaginings. Stoker was fascinated by the science of his day and his characters use scientific concepts and technology to battle Count Dracula. Vampire folklore itself was always guided by forensic science to explain belief in the Undead.  In this four-evening course led jointly by the Mütter Museum and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, we’ll explore the intersection of science and literature, through the lens of Dracula. At the Mütter, we’ll learn how exhumed bodies were identified as vampires and examine how science blended with the occult in the 19th Century.  At the Rosenbach, using first editions of the novel and Bram Stoker’s own manuscript notes, we’ll analyze how science was incorporated into the book and what this means for how vampires developed in the years since Dracula was published.    

The first meeting of the course has been postponed to Wednesday, February 22. The course is held on the following dates: 

• Wednesday, February 22 at the Mütter Museum
• Wednesday, March 8 at the Mütter Museum
• Wednesday, March 22 at The Rosenbach
• TBD at The Rosenbach

Gothic Science of Dracula syllabus

Dracula and embalmers reading for class 2

About the instructors

For The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and Mütter Museum

Meredith Sellers is an artist, writer, and educator living and working in Philadelphia. She works as the Arts and Accessibility Programs Coordinator at the Mütter Museum and College of Physicians of Philadelphia, where she develops cross-disciplinary arts curricula and accessible programs. She has co-curated several exhibits at the Mütter, including Dracula and the Incorruptible Body, Cabinet of Curiosity: Can a Vaccine Turn You Into a Cow?, and Marie Curie at the Mütter. She has lectured at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Tyler School of Art at Temple University, Moore College of Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. An editor for Title Magazine, a Fellow of the Flaherty Film Seminar, and a participant in the Art Writers’ Workshop through the Andy Warhol Foundation, her writing has appeared in publications including Hyperallergic, The Philadelphia Inquirer, American Craft Magazine, ArtsJournal, Pelican Bomb, The Artblog, and ICA Philadelphia’s Notes. She received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Amanda McCall is an educator and history of medicine enthusiast, living and working in Philadelphia, PA. She works as the Museum Educator at the Mütter Museum and The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, where she is responsible for conducting lessons that explore the realm of science, health, and medicine. She has co- curated several exhibits at the Mütter, including Dracula and the Incorruptible Body, and Marie Curie at the Mütter. She received her BS in biology from The University of Dayton.

For the Rosenbach Museum and  Library

Edward G. Pettit is the Sunstein Senior Manager of Public Programs at the Rosenbach. In 2020, he hosted Sundays with Dracula, a live 28 week series exploring Stoker’s novel chapter-by-chapter. This series was followed by Sundays with Frankenstein and Sundays with Jane Eyre.  Most recently Pettit was Master of Ceremonies for the Rosenbach’s Dracuthon, a marathon reading of Stoker’s novel. He continues his vampiric interest in his personal life as a consulting editor for the Dracula Beyond Stoker magazine.

About Rosenbach Courses

Revisit beloved classics or experience new ones with Rosenbach courses. Book lovers delve into fiction, history, and poetry with the guidance of a literary expert and the company of other readers. See all upcoming courses.