Document Type
Syllabus
Publication Date
Fall 9-1-2024
Course Description
Romanticism (1770-1850) was one of the most innovative periods in European literature, setting the stage for modern literature by transforming the conventions of lyric poetry and perfecting the form of the novel. It also coincided with the height of competition between Europe’s major empires. This course will examine how the context of empire shaped the central tenets of modern sexuality in the West—companionate marriage, compulsory heterosexuality, and racially endogamous coupling—and how writers during the Romantic period used poetry, fiction, and travel writing to express the danger and allure of varieties of sexuality deemed as “other.” We will also engage writers from the colonies who bore witness to how colonization impacted the ordering of intimate and domestic life in their native lands. Organized around the geographic centers of imperial expansion and contestation, our readings will span canonical authors from the Romantic period like Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Alexandre Dumas père, women writers such as Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Jane Austen, and Claire de Duras; colonial writers such as Rifa’a at-Tahtawi, Henry Ferozio, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, and Ignace Dau; and key texts in postcolonial theory and Black feminist thought.
Recommended Citation
Wiet, Victoria, "ENG 366a/WGSS 370a/WLIT 315a The Romantic Period: Empire & Sexuality Wiet Fall 2024" (2024). All Course Syllabi. 674, Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University.
https://scholarship.depauw.edu/records_syllabi/674
Student Outcomes
By the end of this course, students will be able to: • Identify some of the most common, innovative, and/or influential characteristics of Romantic literature as a global movement; • Explain important developments in the history of empire from the 18th and early 19th century integrate this knowledge into your understanding of Romantic literature; • Thoughtfully examine, discuss, and compare scholarly arguments from the history of sexuality, queer studies, and Black and postcolonial feminist thought which articulate how global political struggles have impacted the meaning of sexuality; • Analyze and hypothesize how the practice of imperial rule intersected with historical developments regarding the conceptualization and regulation of sexuality shaped how writers depicted desire, intimacy, and domesticity; • Practice formulating strong research questions about literary history and conducting research into primary and secondary sources to address this question; and • Compose a research essay that integrates formal analysis with primary and secondary sources to advance a strong argument in response to a clear research question.