Abstract: The last man is an apocalyptic figure that emerged during the tumultuous years around 1800 in writers such as Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville and Mary Shelley. Shelley's novel The Last Man (1826) in particular created a model for depicting the one who remains after a devastating catastrophe. Starting from The First Last Man: Mary Shelley and the Postapocalyptic Imagination, Eileen M. Hunt will discuss the meaning and impact of Shelley's story alongside postapocalyptic imaginaries in modernity.

This webinar will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, 29 April 2025, from 16:00 until 17:30 (Swedish time).

PLEASE NOTE: Our protocols for webinar attendance have changed. You must register in advance to attend this webinar. Please fill out this very short form, and a link to the Zoom webinar will be emailed to you at the email address you supply about 24 hours before the webinar begins: https://forms.gle/iH9jGyJNUQQhAzmS7.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Eileen M. Hunt is professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame. Her trilogy on Mary Shelley and political philosophy includes Mary Shelley and the Rights of the Child: Political Philosophy in ‘Frankenstein’ (2018), Artificial Life After Frankenstein (2021), and The First Last Man: Mary Shelley and the Postapocalyptic Imagination (2024), all published by Pennsylvania University Press. She has also published edited and co-edited books on Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Torbjörn Gustafsson Chorell is professor of intellectual history at the Department of History of Science and Ideas, Uppsala University, and a member of the End of the World research program.

Sven Anders Johansson is professor in literary studies at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Mid Sweden University.