32102
Advanced Seminar
WiSe 22/23: Evolution and Late-Nineteenth-Century Culture
Heinrich-David Baumgart
Comments
This seminar seeks to familiarize students with the major strands of the theory of evolution – perhaps the most important scientific theory of the nineteenth century – and demonstrate how these strands flourished in American (literary) culture in the late nineteenth century. Emphasis will be placed on the ways in which evolutionary theory informed constructions of collective identities along the lines of “race,” “sex,” and “class.” In so doing, the seminar provides students with an overview over what contemporaries considered to be the most important social issues of their time: the so-called “race question,” the “woman question,” and the “labor question.” ----- The text corpus includes seminal texts of evolutionary theory (Lamarck, Darwin, Spencer), legal documents, newspaper articles, and advice literature. Three novels – Frances Harper’s Iola Leroy (1892), Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Crux (1911), and Jack London’s The Iron Heel (1908) – complete this selection. ----- This blend of texts records not only hegemonic social Darwinist discourses but also heterodox critiques thereof, including early forms of Black and white feminism as well as socialist critiques of American capitalism. ----- To gain attendance for this course, students will have to submit three response papers (1-2 pages, 1,5 spacing) and at least one study question for our discussions (to be explained during the first session of the seminar). Full credit requires the submission of a term paper (15-20 pages, 1,5 spacing) on a topic closely related to seminar discussions. These papers are due on March 31. close
16 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Fri, 2022-10-21 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-10-28 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-11-04 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-11-11 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-11-18 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-11-25 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-12-02 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-12-09 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2022-12-16 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-01-06 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-01-13 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-01-20 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-01-27 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-02-03 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-02-10 12:00 - 14:00
Fri, 2023-02-17 12:00 - 14:00