ENG 262 - Special Topics in 19th-Century British Literature

SPRING 2025 TOPIC: MONSTERS & MONSTROSITY

Jeffrey Jerome Cohen writes that the monster is “an embodiment of a certain cultural moment-of a time, a feeling, a place.” This seminar reads literary monsters - and/or the merely “monstrous” - with a view to how such characters reflect and trouble the values, fears, and anxieties of 19th century Britain. In doing so, we will interrogate the construction of monstrosity in an age of industrialization, colonization, and rapid technological developments. Topics for discussion will include issues of gender, sexuality, class, race, and empire in texts such as Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and Dracula.

For English majors, this course satisfies the D-2 requirement. For English minors, this course counts as a 200-level English seminar.

This course can be repeated with a different topic.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: One 100-level English literature course (ENG 100-199) or permission of instructor

Anticipated Terms Offered: Periodically