This course explores the significance of garbage in Victorian period literature and culture (1832-1901). What did it mean to be dirty—and to be clean—in a culture riven by changing notions of urban life and industrial labor, of gender and sexuality, of colony and metropolis, and of social class and economic value? In the words of one anthropologist, waste is “matter out of place”: it by definition challenges cultural, psychological, and conceptual boundaries. Indeed, it is impossible to study filth without considering that from which it is presumably excluded: purity, beauty, value, and godliness—all terms that Victorians endowed with a specifically gendered valence. We will therefore examine dirt both literally and metaphorically, turning to the actual detritus of London and Paris and to the fallen women and “human scum” that we encounter in literature by Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, and Christina Rossetti.

How, we will ask, do these works address the difficult conceptual problem of disgust? How do they imagine the threats and attractions of all that is low? While the nineteenth-century novel will be our central point of reference, we will also treat materials from a variety of other fields, including anthropology, psychoanalysis, the visual arts, urban planning, and public health. Although this course is primarily designed for English majors, students from other majors may enroll with the consent of the instructor. Prerequisites: Junior standing and ENGL 190 and 195; or consent of instructor

Please note: the reading for this course is lengthy and conceptually demanding. Students are strongly encouraged to begin Our Mutual Friend (Penguin edition) in advance. Readings will be approximately 250 pages per week.

Required texts (available at Turtle Creek Bookstore):

Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend(Penguin)

Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (Routledge)

Friedrich Engels, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 (Penguin)

Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles (Penguin or Dover)

Julia Kristeva, Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (Columbia UP)

John Ruskin, The King of the Golden River (Dover)

Copy packet (I will notify you when it is ready; buy it from Sheila Gustafson at WAC 203A)

A good dictionary to consult while reading and writing

Reserve readings: For the first few weeks of class (before the course packet is done), readings are available for copying on reserve at Morse Library. Make sure to copy all of the following: Dickens, The Uncommercial Traveller; Miller, “Darwin’s Disgust”; and Ruskin, “Fiction, Fair and Foul.”

Course Policies

Requirements/ Grading

Papers:

One short paper (3-4 pages): 15% of grade

One longer paper/ research project (8 or more pages): 30%

Class Presentations:

A short presentation (5-8 minutes): summarizing a critical article or historical topic: 10% [first ½ of term]

A longer oral presentation/ Q & A about your research project: 15% [second ½ of term]

Other short writing assignments, in-class exercises, and quizzes: 10%
Participation (Includes regular attendance, class presentations, and intelligent contributions to discussion.): 20%

Attendance policy: Prompt and regular attendance is required. You are allowed up to two (2) 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 end of the term.

Presentations:

Short presentations: Each student will choose one topic from a list. These presentations should offer a brief (5-8 minute) summary of critical and historical material related to our primary readings. They will be scheduled for the first half of term.
Longer presentations: These presentations are intended both to share your work with your classmates and to jump-start your own writing and research process. They will occur in the later part of the term. While I will provide you with a general list of resources and subjects, the topic should be of your own devising. Our class will meet with the librarians at Morse for more guidance.

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. 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.

The Writing Center: I strongly encourage students to use this excellent resource. It is located upstairs at 635 College St., across from WAC (call x2162 for an appointment or attend the drop-in hours at the library). For quick questions, the web page at http://www.beloit.edu/~writingc is also helpful.

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.

More resources: Free individual peer tutoring is available through the Learning Support Services Center, 635 College Street, X 2572.

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: see the web page for updates)

Week 1

Wed Sept 1: Introduction: What is garbage?

Approaches towards Garbage

Week 2

Mon Sept 6: Anthropology--Douglas, Purity and Danger:

Read the following excerpts (37 pages): PART of Preface (x-xiii, xvi-xx; skip “Abominations”), Introduction (1-7), Ch. 2 (Secular defilement, 36-50), PART of Ch. 6 (Powers and Dangers, 117-127), PART of Ch. 10 (System Shattered and Renewed, 196-205).

· Read Dickens, “Refreshments for Travellers” (168-76) from The Uncommercial Traveller (handout; on reserve)

o Assignment due in class: Summarize the five most important points made by Douglas about pollution and taboo. How do they resonate with the Dickens piece?

Wed Sept 8: Philosophy/ Anthropology--Miller, “Darwin’s Disgust” (on reserve)

· Dickens, “Travelling Abroad” (176-88) from The Uncommercial Traveller (on reserve)

· Introduction to psychoanalytic terms and concepts: Oedipus complex, jouissance,

o Schedule short presentations

Week 3

Mon Sept 13: Psychoanalysis--Kristeva, Powers of Horror:

Read the following excerpts (43 pages): PART of Ch. 1 (Approaching Abjection, 1-18); PART of Ch. 2 (Something to be Scared of, 32-48), PART of Ch. 3 (From Filth to Defilement, 64-73)

· Finish Dickens, The Uncommercial Traveller (on reserve)

o Assignment due in class: Summarize the five most important points made by Kristeva about abjection. What does Kristeva argue about the maternal body (Ch. 3)? How do Kristeva’s arguments about phobia (Ch. 2) resonate with “Travelling Abroad” and “Nurse’s Stories”?

Wed Sept 15: Continue discussion of Kristeva, Dickens, and Douglas

· Read Ruskin, “Fiction, Fair and Foul” (on reserve)

Purity: Fairy Tales

Week 4

Mon Sept 20: Ruskin, King of the Golden River

· Bring Douglas, Purity and Danger to class: compare Douglas’s claims about magic and ritual with this fairy tale about purity, value, and fertility?

Wed Sept 22: Rossetti, “Goblin Market” (packet)

· Ruskin, “Of Queen’s Gardens” (packet)

Cleaning House

Week 5

Mon Sept 27: History/ Gender studies--Davidoff, “Class and Gender in Victorian England” (packet)

Make sure to read the two poems by Munby in Davidoff’s “Appendix”

· Video presentation: 1900 House

Wed Sept 29: The Diaries of Hannah Cullwick (packet)

Munby: Man of Two Worlds (packet)

Fri Oct 1: PAPER #1 DUE at my office by 1 PM.

Tales of the City

Week 6

Mon Oct 4: Sociology--Engels, Condition of the Working Class in England: “Introduction” (50-55, 61-64), “The Industrial Proletariat” (65-67), “The Great Towns” (68-110)

o Assignment due in class

Wed Oct 6: History of Medicine--Chadwick, Report on the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Population (packet)

Read glossary entries on “Public Health” and “Plumbing and Sewage Disposal” (packet)

Garbage: Our Mutual Friend

Week 7

Mon Oct 11: Begin Our Mutual Friend: Book 1, Ch. 1-7 (13-91): focus on labor/ scavenging in chapter 1.

· Read Mayhew, London Labour, London Poor (packet)

Wed Oct 13: Marx, “The Fetishism of Commodities and the Secret Thereof” (packet); bring Our Mutual Friend

· View the advertisements that accompanied Our Mutual Friend at the Dickens Project: http://humwww.ucsc.edu/dickens/OMF/text.html (link also on the course web page).

· For discussion: Veneerings and their “bran-new” objects; dust (Podsnap) and other recycling economies.

MIDTERM BREAK

Mon Oct 18- Fri Oct 22: Read Our Mutual Friend

Week 8

Mon Oct 25: Our Mutual Friend: Book 1, Ch. 8- Book 2, Ch. 7 (91-303)

· Quiz/ in-class writing

Wed Oct 27: NO CLASS

Thurs Oct 29: Required lecture attendance: 4 PM in Morse Library

Bruce Bradley on “Four-Footed Beasts and Forest Trees: Natural History through the Ages” (texts from the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering, and Technology)

Week 9

Mon Nov 1: Our Mutual Friend: Book 2, Ch. 8-14 (p. 303-384)

Emphasis on Ch. 8 (“A Solo and a Duet”) – Harmon’s ‘dead-alive’ identity

Wed Nov 3: Our Mutual Friend: Book 2, Ch. 15- Book 3, Ch. 5 (p. 384-470)

Week 10

Mon Nov 8: Our Mutual Friend: Book 3, Ch. 6-10 (p. 470-535)

Wed Nov 10: International Symposium: NO CLASS

Week 11

Mon Nov 15: Our Mutual Friend: Book 3, Ch. 11-17 (p. 535-614)

Gender and violence; review Ruskin, “Of Queen’s Gardens” (packet)

Wed Nov 17: Our Mutual Friend: Book 4, Ch. 1-7 (p. 617-696)

BBC film presentation

Week 12

Mon Nov 22: Our Mutual Friend: Book 4, Ch, 8-14 (p. 696-770)

Wed Nov 24: Thanksgiving: NO CLASS

Week 13

Mon Nov 29: Our Mutual Friend: Book 4, Ch. 15- “Postscript” (p. 771-800)

Wed Dec 1: More on Our Mutual Friend; presentations and conferences

Fallen Women

Week 14

Mon Dec 6: Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles: Phases 1-2

Wed Dec 8: Tess of the D’Urbervilles: Phases 3-4

Week 15

Mon Dec 13: Finish Tess of the D’Urbervilles: Phases 5-7

Wed Dec 15: wrap up

Final paper projects are due on MONDAY, DEC 20 by 1 pm (the exam date for this class)