The Victorian Era in 10 Poems with Dr. Sarah Faulkner

This is a 6-meeting virtual class using the Zoom platform.

Tuesdays, Oct 13, 20, 27, Nov 3, 10, 17, 7-8:30 pm Central time.

About this class: The Victorian Era (1840-1900) was a time of immense transformation in Great Britain; join us to trace shifting attitudes toward British child labor laws, human rights, nature, religion, and history throughout 10 carefully chosen Victorian poems.

You'll learn not only how to read and understand these poems, but also about the social and literary movements that influenced them. We'll also explore the fascinating British authors that define the Era, including (but not limited to!) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, Christina Rossetti, and Matthew Arnold.

How did new publications on evolution and ecology affect how the Victorians saw nature and God? How could a poem move people so deeply that they passed new laws to restrict child labor? How does one describe the feeling of hearing a bit of birdsong that lightens a heavy heart in perfect meter and rhyme? How did the Victorians cope with modernity and its threatening--and exciting--new technologies and social structures?

Skills Acquired: Literary Analysis, Historical Contextualization, Interpretive Reading, Cultural Analysis, Close Reading

Please note: This class will be held live on Zoom during the dates and time listed above. If you can’t attend a session or if the time doesn’t work for you, a password-protected course page will host video recordings for registered participants to watch at their convenience.

Instructor bio: Sarah Faulkner received her PhD in English from the University of Washington. Her research focuses on British women's writing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This will be her seventh course with The Study ND.