ENGL 23 Romantic Literature: Aesthetics and Ideology from the French Revolution to Frankenstein

The modern conception of the imagination as a force for radical social change emerged, in large part, thanks to the aesthetic innovations of Romantic writers working in the wake of the French Revolution. At the same time, however, the prospect of revolutionary violence made the imagination a dangerous, and intensely debated faculty, as promising as it was potentially pathological, and as likely to produce a Gothic nightmare as a pastoral utopia. This course will examine the richly varied forms of literary and political experience that emerge out of this moment, and that continue to shape modern conceptions of creativity, sexuality, ecology and social transformation. Readings include works by William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy and Mary Shelley, John Keats, and Thomas de Quincey.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:LIT; WCult:W

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Course Group II