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The idea of what is “Victorian” that has come down to us is fraught with deletions and misattributions. Even the label “Victorian” itself causes problems, considering the time frame of the period and the vast changes that occurred over the 60 years Victoria was on the throne. But to be clear: the Victorians lived in a dizzying and constantly changing world that demanded both solidification and abandonment of ideals.

In this course, we will look at the era of Victoria through the lens of cultural studies, that wiggly theoretical school that suggests that we must study all facets of culture to help us understand the literature of an era. Thus, in addition to reading texts from the time, we will also examine the main tenets of English culture; we will read popular texts along side more “serious” texts; and we will learn about the lives of some of these authors. In addition, we’ll look some “revisions” of the Victorian era that recent writers have made to our understanding of the time period, suggesting that assumptions from our own culture must be taken into account

Our underdstanding of high and low cultural practices really came to a head during the Victorian era. We will look at some of the provoking, scandal-inducing moments to try to understand the cultural lines being drawn and redrawn.

So, what caused sensation and scandal to the Victorians? Things ranging from the seemingly mundane to items still causing scandals today:

• New kinds of printed materials that broke away from traditional ideas of edifying texts
• New theories of art and science
• New ways of looking and seeing, as the camera and then cinema entered the scene
• All manner of sexual relationships
• And tied in with that: illegitimacy, as it caused serious problems for inheritance of goods, in addition to the more pedestrian concern that bearing such a child would have on a woman’s reputation
• And those women, with their influence both shrinking and growing, constantly calling into question the woman’s (and hence the man’s) role in this society.

There is a lot to examine here. I’ve chosen a few texts that I feel give us a good window on what the Victorians themselves were reading and how their society would have reacted to such texts, as well as many essays that lay the groundwork for ensuing reactions. We’ll end with a text from the 1890s that already calls into question some of stereotypical Victorian ideals. The nonfiction Parallel Lives gives us insight to the great writers of the time in an illuminating way. These paragons of all things Victorian were not quite what we thought.

TEXTS
Allen, Grant. The Woman Who Did. Broadview.
Braddon, Mary Elizabeth. Lady Audley’s Secret. Oxford. 2nd. ed.
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. Dover.
Dickens, Charles. Bleak House. Broadview. (we’ll read in installments, just like the Victorians had to)
Rose, Phyllis. Parallel Lives. Vintage, 1983.
Ryder, Thomas. Varney the Vampire (portions, online)

Essays from the Norton Anthology: The Victorian Age (2B) or online at d2l. These may include:

• “On the Subjection of Women” (Mill)
• Short stories by George Eliot
• George Henry Lewes and Charles Darwin
• “Stones of Venice” (Ruskin)
• “The Function of Criticism at the Present Time” (Arnold)

There are also many items on reserve in the library, and many articles will be posted on d2l as needed.

COURSE POLICIES: see print version of syllabus for policies

GRADES
Your grade will be determined in the following manner. You’ll learn that many of the due dates for the assignments this class, and hence when you get grades, are variable. Be smart about picking those dates.
• Bleak House blog project: 20%
• Collaborative presentation/handout: 15%
• Final paper: 25% (+ 5% proposal and working Bibliography beforehand)
• Shorter paper (on a novel): 10%
• Position papers: 15%
• Reading quizzes: 10%