Wilde Times: Aesthetics and Politics at the Turn of the Century

Module description

The end of the 19th century, roughly from 1880-1900 or so, has become one of the most dynamic fields in literary studies in recent years. The 1890s was a time of literary innovation, epitomised by a figure like Oscar Wilde, in which the 'new' was championed. This module will focus on a range of literature and some visual culture from the period to consider the ways in which aesthetics and politics intersect. What is art for art's sake? How did agitation for women's rights or Irish home rule find their way into the culture of the day? Why were gender and sexuality so hotly discussed? How was empire imagined by the end of the century? We will examine ideas around Aestheticism, decadence, degeneration, radical politics, urbanism and empire. From the 'New Woman' to the 'New Journalism' and the 'New Drama', we will look closely at what makes this fascinating and culturally rich.  

Assessment details

Reader Response postings on KEATS throughout the semester (15%)

Final exam (85%)

Educational aims & objectives

1. Gain a broad understanding of the art, literature and culture of late nineteenth–century Britain
   
   
2. Analyse and critique the ways in which individual writers, artists and scholars responded to social, political and scientific developments in the period
   
   
3. Display a nuanced understanding of the ways in which broader trends in intellectual and cultural history impacted upon production and consumption of literature
   
   
4. Explore fin-de-siècle London as both a ‘centre of empire’ and a cosmopolitan European capital.  

Learning outcomes

1. Develop the critical skills to independently interpret ‘literary’ texts in a comparative
2. manner, alongside non-literary texts, visual artworks and material artefacts
   
   
3. To think about ‘literature’ alongside other cultural forms (e.g., paintings, illustration, photography, etc.)
   
   
4. To gain confidence in studying the literature and culture of an historical period.

Teaching pattern

This module is taught by 1 hour lecture and 1 hour seminar, weekly. Lectures introduce broad topics, terms and concepts, along with theoretical ways of framing the literature and culture of the period. The seminars allow us to focus closely on literary and visual texts, thinking about these in relation to the concerns of the period. Seminars are a place to discuss and question the material being studied and students are encouraged to be curious and development their own interests.

Suggested reading list

Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure (1895)

H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (1895)

Richard Marsh, The Beetle (1897)

George Bernard Shaw, Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893;1902)

Oscar Wilde, Complete Works (Collins edition is good value)

Prose extracts and short fiction by Walter Pater, Arthur Symons, J.K. Huysman, Josephine Butler, Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Booth, Olive Schreiner and Vernon Lee. (via KEATS)

Poetry by Amy Levy, Sarojni Naidu, Rudyard Kipling, ‘Michael Field’ (Edith Cooper and Katherine Bradley, Richard Le Gallienne and others (via KEATS)

 

Module description disclaimer

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