Drugs, Decadence, and Society

Catalog description

This course will focus on exploring British social history (1700 - 1900) from perspective of those who were rejected by the mainstream culture –the gin merchants, purveyors of opium, prostitutes, and serial killers. In doing so, it shall explore a number of themes concerning the relationship between state control and personal action, questions of personal identity, and the redefinition of “civilization” in the wake of increased scientific knowledge.