This fall take ENGL 3308 that introduces you to British literature of the Victorian age that engaged with the profound social, political, and technical transformations that marked the period. The Industrial Revolution led to rapid economic and social changes, including demands for labor reform, Darwin’s theory of evolution challenged religious faith, and developments in medicine and psychology introduced new ways of understanding mental illness. Revolutions in social and political thought also led to the “Woman Question” and debates about a woman’s place in society. Advances in technology and communication radically altered the book trade and how and what Victorians read, while the rapid growth of the British Empire spread Victorian values globally and introduced foreign cultures and concepts at home. In this course, students survey a variety of Victorian texts including some of the earliest examples of film. As part of the class, students will also have the opportunity to do original research on miscellanies—journals aimed at working class and middle class readers—that will allow students to explore how Victorians covered, as well as how Victorian literature portrayed, the transformations altering British society. Part of the course will be spent learning digital humanities’ skills and building the course Victorian Miscellany website.
For more information please contact the instructor Alison Rukavina: alison.rukavina@ttu.edu
What: ENGL 3308.001 OR 3308.002: 19th C British Literature – Victorian Transformations
When: Fall T/Th: 11-12:20 OR 2-3:20pm
