Writing Empire

Catalog description

This course examines the historical and poetic dimensions of nineteenth-century British imperialism with a focus on the literature of the romantic period. As we explore the connections and tensions between imperialist politics and romantic aesthetics, we will follow three paths of inquiry: 1) how did empire inform the cultural and literary perspectives of the time, 2) what were the historical models and lineages empire was associated with both in political and literary discourses of the period, 3) what definitions empire and imperialism gained in romantic imagination, and how do they inflect the notions and concepts regarded quintessentially romantic such as the sublime? We will seek answers to these questions by returning to the landscape of the romantic period in a comprehensive and inclusive way, reading the works of marginalized authors alongside their rather widely studied contemporaries. Prerequisite: GPS or Sophomore standing. Fulfillment: Humanities Advanced Course.