This course seeks to help students understand the cultural and historical background of Victorian literature. Emphasis will be on Victorian “imperial expansion,” “class issue,” “decadence,” as well as the new woman issues as realized in works by such writers: Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, and Oscar Wilde. Questions pertain to this period are: How did each writer in this period explore sexuality and class inequality? How did they look at the society they live in? And what are the world views of the English people through imperialist imagination?
During the semester, we will watch a couple of adapted films of this period. A group discussion and the assigned questions will be followed accordingly to cultivate the students’ capability to digest the reading texts and their ability of having a critical thinking.