Course
Course 7.5 credits • ENGC12
The course ENGC12 is currently not being offered
Between 1790 and 1810, Britain witnessed unprecedented political upheaval both abroad and at home. The French Revolution of 1789 sparked a debate about the future of British society—its equality, order, and justice—that would continue in various literary forms into the 1800s. This course focuses on the writings of women during this intense period and how they actively participated in public debates, addressing a range of social issues, including gender, social class, wealth, marriage, sexuality and race.
We will not only read their work in relation to key social and political concerns but also examine how women navigated their roles as public authors. How did they present themselves? What genres did they write in, and what is the significance of these choices? We will explore a variety of texts, from foundational works like Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) to one of the first novels in English with a biracial female protagonist, The Woman of Colour (1808), and many other brilliant texts in between.
The course is based on active participation, discussion, and reflection. The teaching consists of seven scheduled sessions comprising, among other things, lecture components and group discussions. Students will be encouraged to offer their own reflections through short oral presentations of individual texts. The course is examined through active participation in the seminars , through an oral presentation, and through an essay of 2,000 words. Students are free to choose their own topic in consultation with the course convenor.