Radical Victorian Fiction: Narrating Social Inequality (O)

3 ch (3S) (W) · Undergraduate

Examine the representation of social inequality and gain insight into the form and function of difference in Victorian fiction. Develop an understanding of the relationship between literature and the formation of social identities - particularly how novels give expression ot the evolution of ideas about class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and disability during this period. Investigate themes such as the representation of difference as 'monstrous' in gothic fiction: the connectoin between literary realism and revolution; the role of racial Otherness in the construction of Empire; and the formal impact of gender and sexual dissidence. Discover how difference is conceived of and represented historically - as well as how it shapes our world today. NOTE: Open to ENGL Honours Students.