ENL 4230 Spring 2022 Ward

This course is intended to introduce you to major works and figures of British literature from 1660 to 1800. Alongside poetry, prose, and drama, we will examine non-literary texts that, like the literature, reflected and produced the cultures of eighteenth-century Britain. In this course, we will examine the rise of British colonialism and Atlantic slavery and the numerous revolutions that occurred over the century—from the financial revolution that sparked the rise of British capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, to the political revolutions in America, France, and Haiti, to the cultural revolutions of “minds and manners” that marked, according to most British subjects, the “progress of civilization.” As we track the significance of historical, political, economic, and gender-related issues of the period, we will also learn about some of the critical approaches to eighteenth-century studies, and discuss how these methods of inquiry are relevant to other areas of literary studies and to our lives outside the classroom.

Throughout the semester, you will be called on to discuss these texts and write about them in papers and on exams. In order to successfully fulfill the paper and exam requirements, you must demonstrate not only a familiarity with the texts and contexts (i.e., background information provided in lectures, class discussions, and independent research), but also an ability to communicate your ideas by applying the critical and analytical techniques used in literary and cultural studies today.

This course meets the pre-1800 requirement for LMC majors.