This course will ground you in the major developments in 18th - and 19th -century British literature. Through reading selected 18th-century poetry and nonfiction, the Gothic novel /The Castle of Otranto/, Jane Austen’s /Sense and Sensibility/, and a selection of Romantic poetry, we will consider historical and philosophical movements including the Enlightenment, the discussion of human rights surrounding the French Revolution, and the relationship between rationalism and Romanticism at the turn to the 19th century. We will then turn to the rise of literary realism and sensationalism and Victorian concerns of imperialism, scientific developments, and the role of women in society; texts for the second half of the course will include /Great Expectations/, /Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/, and other shorter works of poetry and prose. Assessment will be based on a midterm examination, a final examination, in-class participation, and one essay.

Book List

Horace Walpole, /The Castle of Otranto/

Jane Austen, /Sense and Sensibility/, ISBN: 978-0-393-97751-6

Charles Dickens, /Great Expectations/, ISBN: 978-0-393-96069-3

Robert Louis Stevenson, /Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde/, ISBN 978-0-393-97465-2

Other required readings will be included in a coursepack.