106-434 Revolution, Reform & the Victorian Novel

Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in English.

The nineteenth century was a period of unprecedented social change, through the rise of industrial capitalism, the migration of labour from the country to the city, and the growth of the metropolis. This subject will introduce students to some of the remarkable works of literary fiction produced during this period, from the 'loose, baggy monsters' of mid-century to the brief 'New Woman' novels of the 1880s and '90s. Topics to be considered will include the rise of a 'metropolitan mentality', changes in gender relations, female emancipation, class conflict, the work place, religious crisis, and the Victorian intellectual. We shall spend some time locating the Victorians in their historical context and we will also probe the (often negative) connotations attached to the label 'Victorian'. Students will undertake some historical reading and will also think about the wider cultural context and legacy of nineteenth-century Britain.

• acquire skills in research, including the competent use of library, and other (including online) information sources, and the ability to define areas of inquiry and methods of research;

• acquire skills in critical thinking and analysis, including the ability to question accepted wisdom, shape and strengthen persuasive judgments and arguments, and develop critical self-awareness;

• acquire skills in theoretical thinking through a productive engagement with relevant methodologies and paradigms in literary studies and the broader humanities;

• acquire skills in creative thinking through essay writing and tutorial discussion, through the innovative conceptualising of problems and an appreciation of the role of creativity in critical analysis;

• develop social, ethical and cultural understanding;

• develop intelligent and effective communication of knowledge and ideas:

• develop skills in time management and planning related to the successful organisation of workloads, disciplined self-direction and the ability to meet deadlines.

A 5000 word essay 100% (due at the end of semester).

A subject reader including contextual material by Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Henry Mayhew, John Ruskin and John Henry Newman, and critical work by Gillian Beer, Sheila M. Smith, Elisabeth Bronfen, Angelique Richardson and George Simmel will be available from the University Bookshop.

• C Bronte, Villette (1853). Penguin Classics.
• C Dickens, Dombey & Son (1848). Oxford World's Classics.
• G Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860). Oxford World's Classics 1997.
• E Gaskell, North and South (1854-5). Oxford World's Classics.
• G Gissing, The Nether World (1889). Oxford World's Classics.
• T Hardy, Jude the Obscure (1895). Broadview.
• H James, In the Cage (1898). Hesperus Press.
• G Allen, The Woman Who Did (1895). Oxford.