For thousands of years, some men assumed that the original or ideal human type was male, with women being pictured as weaker or imperfect men. This ancient prejudice inspired fictions from E.T.A. Hoffman’s The Sandman (1816) to Ira Levin’s novel The Stepford Wives (1972).
This lecture - by Gresham Visiting Professor of the History of Science, Jim Endersby, looks at fantasies of artificial women (usually seen by their male creators as superior to biological women) to examine the complex connections between science and assumptions about the supposed naturalness of gender roles.
This is a hybrid lecture: watch online, in person, or watch later at a time to suit you.
Jim is Visiting Gresham Professor in the History of Science.
He is Professor of the History of Science at the University of Sussex and specialises in Victorian natural history and the modern genetics and has presented programmes for BBC Radio 4.
Professor Endersby's lecture series are as follows:
2021/22 How Not To Be Human: Exploring Humanity Through Science Fiction
2020/21 Darwin's Descent: Monkeys, Orchids and Myths
2019/20 Utopian Gardens
You can book free tickets to attend online or in person via the website.
