Steam, Speed, and Modernity: Victorian and Neo-Victorian Literature and Culture

English 301/ IDST 210 / WGST 200

Professor Tamara Ketabgian (“ke-tab-jin”)

Beloit College

Spring 2006; MW 2:00-3:50; Aldrich G-10

Office hours: M 12-1; W 4-5; F 12-1 and by appointment

Office: WAC 112 (by the South Lounge)

Phone: 363-2682 (office); 362-2915 (home)

Email: ketabgia_at_beloit.edu

Homepage: http://beloit.edu/~ketabgia

J. M. W. Turner, “Rain, Steam, and Speed –The Great Western Railway” (1844)

New Announcements! Description and Texts Course Policies Schedule of Readings Assignments Image Bank / Presentations Reading Tips Helpful Links Map / Timeline / Victorian Web

Description: This course explores the role of technology in Victorian literature and culture and in visionary “rewritings” of the period by current science fiction. As we read novels about nineteenth-century London and Manchester, we will consider how Victorian machinery—especially trains and factories—served as a suggestive metaphor for different forms of labor, life, feeling, and consciousness. How, we will ask, did these texts critique, anticipate, and mythologize the explosion of technological change around them? How did Victorians imagine the relation between gender, class, sexuality, and the machine? To complement our literary study, we will investigate culturally and geographically specific aspects of British architecture, visual art, urban life, industry, and information technology. The last third of the course dwells on the shady technological “underside” of Victorian culture. We will study unpursued yet remarkably viable inventions such as Babbage’s analytical engine—a machine that today attracts great interest as an early advance in information technology. The class will end by assessing the importance of the Victorians today, as a popular subject of speculation both in the cultural history of technology and in fantastical alternate worlds proposed in recent “steampunk” fiction. (TD, WL)

Prerequisites: Junior standing and English 190 and 195; or consent of instructor.

Note: The reading for this course is lengthy and demanding. Readings will be approximately 250 pages per week.

Texts:

Required

Dickens, Charles. Dombey and Son (Penguin, 2002). ISBN: 0140435468

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times (Broadview, 1996). ISBN: 155111075X

Dickens, Charles. Selected Short Fiction (Penguin, 1976). ISBN: 0140431039

Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England (Penguin, 1987). ISBN: 0140444866

Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton (Broadview, 2000). ISBN: 1551111691

Gibson, William and Bruce Sterling, The Difference Engine (Spectra, 2002). ISBN: 055329461X

Kelly, Joe. Steampunk: Manimatron (Wildstorm, 2001). ISBN: 1563897628

Schivelbusch, Wolfgang. The Railway Journey (U of California P, 1987). ISBN: 0520059298

Copy packet (I will notify you when it is available. Buy it from Sheila Gustafson at WAC 203-A, x2079)

Out of print titles

Swade, Doron. The Difference Engine (Penguin, 2002). ISBN: 0142001449. Xerox copies will be on reserve at the library. You may also buy cheap used copies on the web.

Smiles, Sam. J. M. W. Turner (Princeton UP): I have cancelled this order. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Reserve titles: Please note that our first few readings are on reserve: Ure, Marx, and Foucault. Many of the articles for short presentations are also on reserve.

COURSE POLICIES

Requirements:

• Papers:

One short paper (3-5 pages): 15% of grade

One longer paper/ research project (10-12 pages): 30%

• Class Presentations:

A short presentation (5-8 minutes): summarizing a critical article or historical topic: 5% [first ½ of term]

A longer oral presentation/ Q & A about your research project: 10% [second ½ of term]

• Midterm take-home essay exam: 10%
• Other short writing assignments, in-class exercises, and quizzes: 15%
• Participation (Includes regular attendance and contributions to discussion.): 15%

Attendance policy:

Prompt and regular attendance is required. You are allowed up to two absences for reasons of

illness, family emergencies, etc: Consider this your ‘sick leave.’ Any additional absences will substantially lower your participation grade. If you know that you must miss class, call or email me ahead of time. In the case of excessive absences I will expect a doctor’s note or other relevant documentation. It is YOUR responsibility to contact the instructor about missed assignments, late work, or incompletes. No work will be accepted after the final day of class.

Quizzes:

Most quizzes will consist of essay questions or exercises in close reading. Occasionally they may also include short answer and/or multiple choice questions. I reserve the right to quiz students at any time. I will drop your lowest quiz grade. No make-up quizzes will be offered.

Paper format:

All papers should be typed and double-spaced, in standard font (10-12 point) with one inch margins. Each paper should have a title of your own devising and should include on its first page all relevant information (your name, the class and instructor, the date, etc.). You are expected to meet the paper length requirements. Use the MLA format for all papers (including page numbers and bibliographic citations). Spelling and grammatical errors are unacceptable and will affect your grade. No faxed or emailed papers, please. Remember to back up all your work. Late papers drop a grade per day that they are late.

Paper rewrites:

Papers may be rewritten and turned in no later than the next paper due date. Rewrites will be graded only if they are submitted along with a copy of your earlier paper. Simply submitting a rewrite is not a guarantee of a better grade. Rewrites must show signs of substantive conceptual and structural revision. Your rewrite grade will be averaged with your former paper grade. I encourage students to consult me about strategies for improving their writing. Final papers cannot be rewritten.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable and will result in disciplinary action. Be forewarned that I am familiar with papers posted on the web and with printed scholarly work on the assigned material. It is extremely easy to detect plagiarism with these new technologies.

Disabilities:

If you have a disability and would like to speak to someone about possible accommodations, please visit the LSSC (Learning Support Services Center) located on the first floor of 635 College St. You will need to provide appropriate documentation of your disability to Diane Arnzen, Director of the LSSC. If you wish to receive accommodations in my class please provide me the LSSC Accommodation Verification Letter dated for this semester as soon as possible so your learning needs may be appropriately met.

A note about the content of this course: We will be reading some texts that treat questions of sexuality and the human body fairly candidly. If you have any concerns surrounding this matter, please speak with me.

SCHEDULE OF READINGS (subject to change)

Note: Assignments are *asterisked, underlined and in bold.

Week 1

W 1/18: Introduction; “The Opening of the Railway”

The Mill and the Metropolis

Week 2

M 1/23: Ure, Philosophy of Manufactures. Marx, Capital (reserve)

*Presentation: Butler, “The Book of Machines” (reserve) – Jenna Samson

Ketabgian, “The Human Prosthesis” (reserve) – Elise Foster

W 1/25: Foucault, Discipline and Punish (reserve)

*Summary of Foucault due at the BEGINNING of class (1-2 pages, typed and double-spaced).

What are Foucault’s main points? What happens to power and autonomy in the industrial & disciplinary scenarios described by Foucault?

*Presentation: Winner, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” (reserve) – Laura Markowitz

Week 3

M 1/30: Engels, Condition of the Working Class in England: “Introduction” (50-55, 61-64), “The Industrial Proletariat”& “Great Towns” (65-110)

*Group work on Engels: What specific images and metaphors does Engels use for the physical structure of the city, the relations between people, between classes, and between people and their environments?

W 2/1: Engels, “Results” (127-157), “Single Branches of Industry. Factory Hands” (164 [1^st full par].-171), “The Attitude of the Bourgeoisie towards the Proletariat” (275-278)

*Presentation: Marcus, Steven. Engels, Manchester, and the Working Class: “The Working Class (2)”- Emma Kobil

Week 4

M 2/6: Gaskell, Mary Barton: Preface, Ch. 1-10 (27-174).

Read also “The Parable of Dives and Lazarus” (Mary Barton 492-93); “Literary Terms Defined”; “Some Historical Terms Defined” (packet)

*Short assignment due at the BEGINNING of class (1-2 pages):

Compare and contrast Gaskell’s ‘project statement’ in her “Preface” (pp. 29-31) to Engels’ approach in The Condition of the Working Class in England.

1.) How do you respond to the tone of Gaskell’s “Preface”?

2.) Why is Gaskell writing? How would you describe her attitude towards her subject matter (“the poor uneducated factory-workers of Manchester”)?

3.) How does Gaskell imagine the figure of the crowd? How is her portrait similar to or different from that of Engels?

W 2/8: Mary Barton: Ch. 11-20 (175-299)

Week 5

M 2/13: Finish Mary Barton: Ch. 21-37 (300-483)

*Quiz (passage interpretation)

W 2/15: Mary Barton continued. Read Greg’s review (Mary Barton 501-15) & letters to Miss Lamont & Mrs. Greg (MB 484-87).

*Presentation: the historical reception of Mary Barton (summarize critical reviews in your text: Appendix B)- Valerie Vega

F 2/17 *Paper #1 due by 4:30 at my office (WAC 112)

Week 6

M 2/20: Dickens, Hard Times: Book 1 - Book 2, Ch. 3 (41-168).

· As you read Hard Times, check out these images of steam engines: from the inside (note the boiler) and outside (note the elephantine “piston”).

· How do these images resonate with the “keynote” describing “melancholy mad elephants”?

· How do they relate to the novel’s pervasive metaphors of water, fire, pressure, and enclosure?

*Presentations: Carlyle, “Signs of the Times” (Hard Times, 339-345) – Stephanie Fleck

W 2/22: Finish Hard Times (169-315). “Hard Times Refinished” (packet).

Railway Dreaming

Week 7

M 2/27: Schivelbusch, The Railway Journey: Ch. 1-5 (1-69). Dickens, “A Flight” in Selected Short Fiction (142-51)

Consult visual art on website: Turner, “Rain, Steam, and Speed” (Presentation: Anya Ventura) and Frith, “The Railway Station.” (Presentation: Sarah Walczewski ): Here is a detail from Turner and one from Frith.

W 3/1: The Railway Journey: Ch. 7-11 (113-177). Illustrations and photography of railway accidents and the city. Closely examine the images on this link.

*Presentation: Wosk, “Traumas of Transport in 19^th-Century Art,” Breaking Frame (reserve)- Kyle Bueschlen

Th 3/2 *Final paper prospectus due (with annotated bibliography)

SPRING BREAK: 3/4-3/12 – Read Dombey and Son (Ch. 1-7, 13-16 at least)! Brainstorm for your research project!

Week 8

M 3/13: Dickens, “No. 1 Branch Line: The Signalman” and “Main Line: The Boy at Mugby” in Selected Short Fiction (78-90, 370-378)

*Presentation: Matus, "Trauma, Memory, and Railway Disaster,” Victorian Studies (reserve)- Shannon Williams

*Assignment due at the beginning of class (1-2 p). Respond to the following questions on “The Signalman”:

1.) How would you describe the story’s narrator? By the story’s last paragraph, what is your assessment of his psychological condition?

2.) What sort of attitude does “The Signalman” express towards modern technology?

3.) How does this story deal with questions surrounding chance, determinism, and individual agency?

Make sure to support your responses with evidence from the text!

W 3/15: Dickens, The Uncommercial Traveller in Selected Short Fiction (167-280).

Week 9

M 3/20: Dickens, Dombey and Son: chapters on London/ Stagg’s gardens (Ch 1-7, 13-16, 20-21)

For help, check out this plot summary and this description of characters.

*Quiz on Dombey

W 3/22: Dombey and Son: chapters on Carker’s flight (Ch. 47, 54-56, 62)

*Presentation: Nead, Lynda. Victorian Babylon: People, Streets, and Images: 1^st chapter (book on reserve) - Lauren Ressue

*Presentation: Cruikshank, George. Charles Dickens Street. – Patrick Reinhardt

Week 10

M 3/27: Serres, “Turner Translates Carnot” and Ruskin, “Of Water, as Painted by Turner.”

J. M. W. Turner: view the following images.

W 3/29: More visual art: Turner, Frith, Illustrated London News. Make sure to view these popular images of the Crystal Palace.

In-class project: working definition of the term “Victorian”

*F 3/31: Unit take-home essay due by 4:30 pm in my office

(Define the term “Victorian” and/or other keywords)

Smart Machines: Victorians and Neo-Victorians Week 11 M 4/3: Swade, The Difference Engine- Ch. 1-2, 4-5, 8 (handout) *Presentation: Schaffer, Simon, “Babbage’s Dancer and the Impresarios of Mechanism” (article on reserve) – Lauren Lewis *Project presentation: Valerie Vega W 4/5: More from Swade- Ch. 12, 16-18 (handout) Week 12 M 4/10: Disraeli, Sybil (excerpts in packet- apx. 150 pages) Gibson & Sterling, The Difference Engine: 1^st Iteration (1-71) Consult "The Difference Dictionary" for specific period terms. *Presentation: summary of Sybil—Genghis Philip *Project presentation: Emma Kobil W 4/12: Continue The Difference Engine: 2^nd & 3rd Iteration (73-216) *Project presentation: Elise Foster, Laura Markowitz Week 13 M 4/17: FINISH The Difference Engine (217-429) *Quiz on The Difference Engine *Project presentation: Sarah Walczewski, Stefanie Fleck W 4/19 NO CLASS—Student Symposium Week 14 (4/24 – 4/26): M 4/24 Kelly, Steampunk: Manimatron *Project presentation: Patrick Reinhart, Lauren Ressue W 4/26 Stephenson, The Diamond Age (selections, packet) *Assignment: Bring into class an example of a Neo-Victorian text, artifact, game, etc. that you have encountered (something we have NOT already discussed!) *Project presentation: Jenna Samson Week 15 M 5/1 *Project presentation: Lauren Lewis & Anya Ventura, Genghis Philip W 5/3 *Project presentation: Shannon Williams, Kyle Bueschlen TBA: Film presentation of Steamboy *FINAL PAPER due: Monday, May 8 by 4:30 pm at my office.

Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine