ENGL5031 · English

Seminar: Scientific Imaginaries in Nineteenth Century British Literature

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Fulfills the pre-1900 requirement & Seminar requirement.What is the relationship between literature and scientific inquiry in the British empire in the nineteenth century? In this period, scientific disciplines like psychology, geology, botany, bacteriology and more are developed alongside the expansion of the British empire and a growing reading public. In this class, we will look at how writers engaged with the science of their time to produce scientific imaginaries in literature. By engaging with both scientific and literary texts, we will trace how forms of scientific inquiry and literary innovation are mutually constituted and have significant impacts on issues like race, empire, class, gender, sexuality, disability, and more.