EN 3595 3.0 - Romantics en Route: Contexts of Literary Production in England, 1750-1850
In this Study Abroad course students will read key works of Romantic and early Victorian literature and visit important sites in England related to the works. By learning about and experiencing the geographical, biographical, and cultural contexts of literature, students will gain a deeper appreciation of how the works came to be written and their cultural importance today. Focusing on literature produced during what Galperin and Wolfson call the “Romantic Century” (1750-1850), we will explore two main kinds of writing: nature poetry and the Gothic.
Three weeks in the classroom at Keele campus will be followed by two weeks abroad. The trip abroad will entail some in-class work in London (our base) and excursions to locations in England (e.g., London, Bath, the Lake District, and Haworth) to visit to the homes of the authors we have studied, the places that inspired their work, and the monuments and museums that commemorate their lives and contributions to British literary history.
Visits might include Keats’s London home, Walpole’s Gothic folly Strawberry Hill, the Pump Room in Bath, Haworth Parsonage in West Yorkshire, and Wordsworth’s Cottage in the Lake District, where we will consider the different contexts, public and private, urban and rural, for literary production. Our literary tour of England will allow us to discuss the following issues: the intersection of the authors’ lives and works; the nature of literary inspiration and production; literary value, canon formation, and nation; and the legacy and cultural commodification of Romantic authors.
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Applications for Summer 2024 have now closed.
Location: London, England
Course Dates:
May 16 - June 4, 2024 at York; June 15 - 25, 2024 in the United Kingdom.
Course Director:
Prof. Natalie Neill, Assistant Professor, Department of English (nneill@yorku.ca).
Maximum Enrolment: 16 Students
Learn More
For more information, students can connect with LA&PS Study Abroad Coordinator (studyabr@yorku.ca).