Introduction to the Culture of the 19th Century

elective courses

The course is intended to be an introduction to the British culture of the 19th century - from the Industrial Revolution to the heyday of the British Empire. An important part is close analysis of Victorian culture and mentality being an quintessence of ideals and fears of the politically ascending middle class. The discussed subjects include industrialisation, urbanisation, private life, religious observance and morality illustrated with numerous examples form the graphic arts.

1. History: the time-span of the 19c., the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, the emergence of the middle-class.

2. Pre-Victorian Period: the Regency and the Wicked Uncles.

3. The Values: (Houghton) optimism and anxiety, non-conformism and reliance on authority, enthusiasm, earnestness, hero-worship.

4. Victorian Love: the concepts of love and family, idealization, disjoined spheres of men and women.

5. The Royal Family: changing concepts of monarchy, Queen Victoria's family and Court.

6. Other Classes: legal and factual division of society. The aristocracy, the middle-class, the working-class. Status symbols. Money system. Work in Victorian times.

7. Victorian Fashion: clothes as a reflection of changing social reality.

8 Victorian city. Architecture, the battle of styles. New cities, new buildings. Technology, improvements, public transport, business and commerce. The Great Exhibition.

9. Victorian family. Roles of spouses, meaning of children. Domestic servants. Holidays, Christmas.

10. Victorian Leisure. Public and private leisure. Shows and performances.

11. Victorian sexuality.

12. Victorian Art. Painting in 19c. Narrative painting. The Pre-Raphaelites.

13. The Imperial Britain. The growth and popular meaning of the Empire. The Army ad the Navy.

Grisewood, Herman, ed., Ideas and Beliefs of the Victorians. London: Dutton, 1966.

Houghton, Walter E., The Victorian Frame of Mind. New Haven and London: Yale U.P., 1976.

Mitchell, Sally, Daily Life in Victorian England. London: Greenwood Press, 1996.

Marsden, Gordon, ed., Victorian Values. Personalities and Perspectives in Nineteenth Century Society. London: Longman, 1990.

Newsome, David, The Victorian World Picture. London: John Murray, 1997.

Perrot, Michelle ed., Historia Życia Prywatnego. Tom 4. Od rewolucji francuskiej do I wojny światowej. Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1999.

Randall, Rona, The Model Wife. Nineteenth-century style. London: the Herbert Press, 1989.

Knowledge:

K_W02 - understand key terminology, well established methods and theories of British culture of the 19c.

K_W03 - describe methodology and recent developments in English literary studies and culture studies

Skills:

K_U01 - employ the terminology and methodological tools

K_U11- design one’s own development

Competences:

K-K03 - value responsibility for one’s own work and respect the work of others, adhering to the professional and ethical norms in various projects

In class discussions students acquire skills of expressing their thoughts in a clear, coherent, logical and precise manner, with the use of language which is correct grammatically, lexically and phonetically.

Practice online tests. Written work (c. 2000 words) on a subject consulted with the teacher.

3 absences are allowed.