Class Description
In the Victorian period, many of the liveliest literary works were feisty engagements with or challenges to the monarchical “brand” of Queen Victoria in its many forms. In this course we will read: poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, one about the queen and one about American slavery; a speech by Frederick Douglass as he left England; essays by George Eliot; Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market," a wild anti-fairy tale about female desire and the dangers of yielding to it; W.T. Snead’s “The Modern Tribute of Modern Babylon,” an anti-prostitution campaign; excerpts from News from Nowhere, a socialist utopian fiction by William Morris, as well as a speech by Morris; Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband, and excerpts from his letter from prison, “De Profundis,” along with accounts of his criminal trial. We will read essays and study photographs and paintings that address the concerns of the day from prostitution to sanitation, and study writers and artists on the frontline of political and cultural activism.
Mary Finn is the Cardiss Collins Professor of Instruction Emerita at Northwestern University. She retired from Northwestern in July, 2023. She was the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs and taught in the English Department. Since retiring she has been researching the Magdalen Laundries in Ireland.
What to Expect
Format: In Person
Class Capacity: 24
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- Instructor-Distributed Materials
Recommended
- The instructor strongly recommends that you bring a device (laptop, iPad, smart phone) to class so that we can delve into electronic texts together. She will have work arounds for those for whom this is not possible.
- The following books are included in the Instructor-Distributed Materials and are freely available online. You may also acquire physical copies yourself if you prefer, but we are unable to stock them in the bookstore.
- Christina Rossetti, Goblin Market, any edition.
- William Morris, News from Nowhere, any edition.
- Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband, any edition.
First Reading
- Read Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poems: “The Young Queen” and “Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point”; and Frederick Douglass's speech, “Farewell to the British People”
A Brief Syllabus
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Frederick Douglas
- George Eliot
- W.T. Snead, Deborah Gorham, and Christina Rossetti
- William Morris
- Oscar Wilde
Cost and Registration
5 Sessions, $200 ($180 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($200), Community Supported ($185), and Sponsor ($215). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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