Course description

Time and location

Fridays, 9:30-13:20 AQ 5025

Instructor: Karyn Huenemann

Office: AQ 6098
Telephone: (778) 782-8507
Email: kme@lightspeed.ca
Office hours: Wednesdays 3:30 – 5:15 pm; Friday 1:30 – 2:30 pm

Course description

“Every culture needs a decadent period,” as The Vancouver Sun once reminded us (12 Jan 2003). Critics such as Elaine Showalter have commented on the similarities between the culture at the end of the twentieth century and of the fin de siècle. What were the defining characteristics of the end of the 19^th century? Why does this period stand out so markedly in our cultural and literary history? Are the attitudes and cultural themes dominant at the fin de siècle replicated in society today? We will look at both popular and controversial texts of the late 19^th and early 20^th century that reflect many of the social and political concerns of their time: artistry and Decadence (Wilde and Duncan), feminism and the New Woman (Shaw, Duncan, and Cholmondeley), science (Wells), colonial politics (Conrad), religion and family politics (Gosse). The ideological discord underlying these texts illuminates a society rent asunder by sociological conflict: imperial pride vied with anti-imperial sentiment, feminists demanded equal position within society, advances in technology and medicine raised previously unexplored ethical questions. Class discussion will incorporate a consideration of how—or whether—these issues are manifested in today’s society.

Required Texts (online versions are acceptable)

Wilde, Oscar	The Picture of Dorian Grey (1891) Broadview
Duncan, Sara Jeannette	A Daughter of To-day (1894) Tecumseh
Conrad, Joseph	Heart of Darkness (1899) Broadview
Gosse, Sir Edmund	Father and Son (1907) Penguin
Shaw, George Bernard	Mrs. Warren’s Profession (1893) Broadview
Wells, H. G.	The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896) Broadview
Cholmondeley, Mary	Votes for Men (1909) (provided by instructor)

Recommended Texts

Nelson, Carolyn	The Literature of Women’s Suffrage Campaign in England
Showalter, Elaine	Sexual Anarchy
Shaw, George Bernard	The Quintessence of Ibsenism

Course Requirements

Participation/attendance (10%)

Short written assignment (10%)

Seminar presentation and report (15%)

Term Paper Proposal   (15%)

First draft (10%)

Review of classmate’s paper (5%)

Review grid (5%)

Final paper  (30%)