19th-Century Feminism WiSe 2024/25, Franziska Quabeck

British 19^th-century feminism constitutes one of the most important feminist waves in history and resulted in manifest cultural change in the country. Moreover, it is one of those periods in British history in which one can see the important political power of literature as a major influence on the national discourse. We will consider British 19^th-century feminist writings by both men and women and place the literary text in the context of those crucial cultural developments during the century. This includes discussions of gender and sexuality, madness and femininity, law and literature and power and culture. We will look at the representation of women both in and beyond literature with a specific focus on the creation of female characters as within or outside the conventions of stereotyping. Please read Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847), Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son (1846–1848) and Charles Dickens, Great Expectations (1860–1861).

Kurs im HIS-LSF