This honors course focuses upon British literature from 1830-1900. In many ways, these years gave rise to modernity as we
presently experience it, from the first appearance of modern vehicles (including trains, subways, and bicycles) to the first instantaneous electronic communication (the telegraph). These years also witnessed the birth of mass literacy and widespread new discussions of women's rights, worker's rights, children's rights, and animal rights. Not coincidentally, ideas of literary value evolved dramatically during this period: women gained unprecedented positions in the literary world, the
novel first received credit as a legitimate art form, and folk art (from crafts to fairy tales) attained a new cultural value. This course will address both how literature reflects social change and how it helps to create it. Students should look forward to studying a variety of genres: novels, essays, poetry, visual arts. Course expectations will include two short papers and a group presentation.

Learning objectives for this course will include the following:
• close or careful reading of primary textual evidence;
• close or careful reading of critical academic prose;
• ability to summarize the main claims of an academic essay;
• ability to assess and respond to the main claims of an academic essay;
• ability to situate oneself in a critical conversation;
• ability to formulate a distinct critical perspective;
• ability to create a logically coherent and complex thesis;
• ability to develop a coherent and sustained argument to support that thesis