Course Description:
ENG 329 (73566), 394 (09403): Fall 2002
Victorian Sensation
Literature
In this course we will be studying the evolution of the literary
and cultural phenomenon known to the nineteenth century as "sensation
literature." Beginning with Shelley's drama about murder in
the Renaissance, The Cenci, we will examine how the Victorians
developed a taste for novels featuring the desperate exploits of
characters harboring lurid secrets. We will also discuss the burgeoning
influence in the Victorian Age of what Matthew Arnold called "The
New Journalism," which flourished in Britain after the 1850s,
and catered to the appetite for sensation already whetted by Wilkie
Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Thus, we will look at how The
Pall Mall Gazette in the 1880s exploited middle class fears
about working class sexuality and "de-moralization" in
its series "The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" and
"Bitter Cry of Outcast London." We will also discuss The
Times' sensationalistic portrayal of a series of murders of
prostitutes in London - the so-called "Whitechapel Horrors"
(better known today as the "Jack-the-Ripper murders").
The reading
list includes Collins' Woman in White, Braddon's Lady
Audley's Secret, and Mrs. Wood's East Lynn. These will
be supplemented by Shelley's drama The Cenci, a number of
poems of Robert Browning, excerpts from the journalistic accounts
mentioned above, and some essays by Victorian critics such as Margaret
Oliphant and Matthew Arnold who were critical of the growing taste
for titillating "sensation." In addition, we will examine
Bram Stoker's Dracula as a novel which literalizes moral
corruption at the heart of the domestic scene.
Students in the course will be involved
in, among other things, researching and preparing out-of-copyright
materials related to this topic for display on the Worldwide Web.
This team-taught
course, which must be taken in conjunction with a one-credit technology
lab, qualifies as an advanced course in Humanities computing for
the Information Technology Certificate. You need not have previous
experience with Humanities computing in order to take this course,
only the ability to type and a willingness to learn some new computing
skills. You will use the skills you develop in the technology lab
to put together the assignments for the literature course. Thus,
you will learn how to create and deliver a Powerpoint presentation,
how to construct and manage a complex website, and how to create
a Humanities database. All of these projects will focus on topics
related to 19th century "sensation" literature. You will
learn the use of the main programs in the Microsoft Office suite
of programs (Word, Access, and Powerpoint) as well as Macromedia's
Dreamweaver (for Web-editing and authoring) and Adobe Photoshop
(for graphics). You are not required to purchase these programs
in order to take this course. A room in the Computing Commons has
been reserved for Wednesday nights for the technology lab. All the
computers in this classroom are already equipped with these programs.
We will make accommodations both for students who already have advanced
skills in Humanities computing and for those with less familiarity
with these tools.
Please note that the computing lab
is a one credit segment. This means that it meets for 1 hour
per week (not 3 as is indicated in the Schedule of Classes).
The computing lab will be on Wednesdays, 6:05-7:05 PM.
You must
register for both ENG 329 (Th 6:05-8:55, CPCOM 237, SLN: 73566)
and ENG 394 (W 6:05-8:55, CPCOM 107, SLN: 09403) in order to be
properly enrolled in this course.
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