Brief description of the course
The spirit of the Victorian era. Political and social peculiaities. The power of ideology. Controversies and new winds. The development of the English novel. Dickens, Thackeray. The Bronte phenomenon. Between realism and romanticism: a woman’s view. Jane Austen. Christina Rosetti. The Victorian poetry: Browning, Tennyson, Morris. Literature on a new level: interdisciplinarity. Pre-Raphaelites. Fin-de-siecle issues. Decadence and the 1890s. Oscar Wilde, Walter Pater.
The course consists of lectures and seminars.
Independent work: compulsory reading (theoretical and literary texts), preparation for seminars.
Study methods: lecture, seminar, discussion, pair and group work.
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
Ability to grasp general problems of 19th-c. English literature and culture, connecting them to contemporary cultural issues. Analytical skills. Motivation for further research.