ENGL 2051 - Literature and Society in Victorian Britain

The nineteenth century witnessed extraordinary social and cultural change in Britain, from the rise of industrial capitalism to the emancipation of women, from the decline of Christian belief to the growth of Empire, from urbanisation to the emergence of mass literacy. This course will introduce students to some significant texts and literary movements of the period, in the wider context of social transformation and emerging literary practices. Issues to be considered will include the establishment of the novel as the dominant literary genre, the ways in which social values are encoded and contested in literary texts, and the relationship of traditional and experimental practices in poetic forms. The course aims to develop students' analytic and critical skills through an engagement with a range of issues and methodologies in literary studies. Students will have an opportunity to develop their independent and team research skills through the identification and competent use of relevant information sources in relation to specific research questions.