PT 2: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Birth of Sci-Fi

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On this episode I'll be reading the short story "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

A scientist's deepest desire and motivation is to master nature in the same way that the artist represents nature.

In this episode we will explore the deeper motivations of Hawthorne's character creation: The Mad Scientist.

We will explore the nature of art and science, literature as an art form, science fiction as a genre, and how all of these ideas converge within Hawthorne's short story.

The four short stories we are covering are:

1) Dr. Heidegger's Experiment 2) The Birthmark 3) Rappaccini's Daughter 4) The Artist of the Beautiful

This is science fiction not as it is, but as it should be!

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