The course will deal with general aspects of English literature of the nineteenth century with reference to social, political and religious changes. Through close reading of the texts, the module will explore man’s relationship with power and the moral and emotional consequences of the loss of power, above all in the context of family relations. Particular attention will be devoted to the representation of the conflict between the social and personal spheres of the protagonists concerned and the importance of spiritual awakening. Students will be given a comprehensive account of the socio-cultural, pedagogical, philosophical and literary context of the nineteenth century with a particular emphasis on female education and female emancipation together with the new role played by women in antithesis to the orthodoxy of the dominant class.
The course will present the basic sociocultural, scientific, artistic and philosophical ideas that characterized the period. The underlying aim is to examine the ways in which social changes initiated a new artistic sensibility that entailed a rethinking of cultural attitudes and behaviour.