Ashford Courses

Week 1

Ideals of Democracy. Provide a brief summary, explaining the extent to which reform movements in the 19th century advanced the ideals of democracy. How did artistic movements such as Romanticism and Transcendentalism alter culture during the 19th century by spurring other reform movements? What can we learn, for example, from the literature you read (be specific) to help us understand a historical period that sought to embrace “the common man”?

Literature and the Industrial Revolution. Many artists and writers in the 19th century hoped that their work would inspire politicians and others to make lasting changes that would improve living and working conditions for people. These writers were often called “social critics” and their writing “social criticism” because one of its intents was to criticize society. To what extent are art and literature political? Why do you think that many of the works of 19th-century writers, including Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell, are still popular today?

Response: The Extent of How Art and Literature are Political. Submit a response paper that considers the extent to which art and literature are political. Select one of the suggested topics below as you compose your response. Make specific observations about, and references to at least one of the literary readings completed from the texts this week. Your paper should be organized around a thesis statement about the selected literary work and the approach you are using to analyze the work.

Select one of the following topics:

§ Which aspects of 19th-century life are being criticized by Dickens in Hard Times?

§ If you were a factory worker at the time of the Industrial Revolution, what piece of literature from this

week’s readings would you prefer, and why? If you were a factory owner?

§ In the debates about industrialism and “the woman question”, voices came into print that had not been

heard before. How did women writers shape debates about women’s role in society?

Week 2

The White Man’s Burden. Rudyard Kipling’s (1899) poem, “The White Man’s Burden,” attempted to clarify the unique relationship between oppressors and oppressed. What is the "White Man's burden" and how did Europeans justify what we would consider racist policies in their imperial ventures? How does the 19th-century literature read this week respond to this ideology?

The Scramble for Africa. Consider the different perspectives you’ve encountered in your readings this week concerning the frantic period in colonial history referred to as “the scramble for Africa”. What would your interests be as a European nation? How would these interests conflict with people in Africa and other Europeans? And what problems might come about as a result? How does an author like Conrad use characters to address this issue?

Response: The Role Art Played in the Colonial Project. Submit an essay that responds to the role art played in the colonial project. You will consider both visual as well as written artifacts for this essay as you examine the impact art had on colonial debates as well as the role history had on artistic productions. Make specific observations about, and references to, at least one of the literary readings completed from the texts this week in addition to Barker’s painting, “The Secret of England’s Greatness”.

Given our discussions and readings this week in which we assessed the different perspectives involved in the colonial project (i.e., the colonizer, the sympathizer, the colonized, etc.), imagine what Barker’s painting might suggest to Victorians about the British Empire. Discuss whether it was possible for a Victorian to imagine switching the position of the two central figures; in other words, Queen Victoria kneeling to an African chief. Despite the British association of empire with masculinity, the Queen was a familiar source of imperial symbolism. Why would this be so? How, in this picture, is British masculinity inserted (her husband looks on, other male advisers are present and she is shown possessor of the Crown, etc). How is the inferiority of the African visually produced in posture and costume? Does this painting correspond to the themes of the literary readings this week? Why, or why not?

Week 3

“The War to End All Wars”. At the end of the nineteenth century, many believed that there would never again be an "all-out" war among nations and were optimistic that civilization was advancing in ways that would make wars of all kinds less likely. Beginning with World War I, however, the 20th-century witnessed impressive advances in the technology of war, adding immensely to the damage that war can do. From our vantage point today, discuss the role optimism or naivety played in the brutality and tragedy that came to be known as the Great War.

The Shape of Things to Come. John Steinbeck’s novels cover the grim decade from 1937 to 1947 that oversaw a second world war, the ascendance of fascism and communism, the inadequacies of capitalism, and a global Great Depression. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck’s most controversial work, he challenges big business and dehumanizing social institutions while raising questions about human ability to manage natural disasters, systems that deny humans sustenance, and dignity. As you consider how Steinbeck’s novel speaks to his generation, reflect on whether your generation significantly differs from that of your parents or grandparents. How is our current moment of a great recession defining our generation?

Final Research Paper Rough Draft. For Week Three you are responsible for writing a rough draft for your Final Research Paper in which you analyze a specific historical theme we’ve studied as it is developed in two literary works read or discussed in the textbook during the semester.

Use the “themes” list below as a guide and then once you have chosen the theme you want to examine, select two literary texts where you feel this theme is best reflected. You can choose any two texts read in this course but the selections must be from the course textbook.

Your draft and final version should be organized around a thesis statement about the theme and your selected literary works.

Select one of the following themes for the Final Research Paper: § Democracy and reform movements
§ Workers and the Industrial Revolution
§ The “woman question”

§ The “white man’s burden”
§ Imperialism and the colonial project
§ The Great Depression
§ The impact of technology on 20th century warfare § Holocaust/genocide
§ Cold War
§ Nationalism
§ Totalitarianism
§ Decolonization
§ Race & racism
§ Environmentalism and climate change
§ Globalization

§Hybrid national identities

§ Dystopia
§ Magical realism

Week 4

Dehumanization and Genocide. Dehumanization is the process by which the Nazis gradually reduced the Jews to little more than "things" which were a nuisance to them. Discuss several specific examples of events that occur in Elie Wiesel’s Night and/or from Chapter Six of your text which reflect the dehumanization of Jews.

Writing the Global Conflict. While the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union dominated the global, geo-political landscape of post World War II, most of the military struggles took place in postcolonial regions of the world. Consider the three writers this week and examine trends among Ishiguro, Klima, and Jin. What are the concerns of ethnic minorities as represented in the literary works of these writers? How might these concerns differ from those that are more commonly represented in “Cold War” studies?

Reading Reflection on the Intersection of History and Literature. Sometimes we are asked to understand history through the eyes of books. And sometimes we are asked to understand literature through the lens of history. Many critics, however, propose that the two are so intertwined as to be nearly inseparable.

Consider this methodology given what you’ve read throughout this course. Then, select one of the literary texts from this week’s assigned readings and identify at least three ways in which you understand history and literature overlapping and shaping each other.

Make specific observations about, and references to, at least one of the literary readings completed from the texts this week. All academic papers should include an introduction with a thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Week 5

The World and Africa. As rebellion against colonialism comes to fruition in post-war territories around the world, attempts to raise consciousness about the worldwide exploitation of black and brown people create alliances and race unity in Western nations. In the United States, the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights movement challenged Eurocentric histories by identifying with the global struggles that affected ethnic minorities around the world. Consider the literary readings this week and examine the ways in which at least two of the authors make connections between local struggles and a larger universal “Black struggle”. How useful do the writers find Pan African movements in their own fight against racism and colonialism?

Reflection. After reading samples of world literature from various historical periods, what is the relationship between history and literature? Is one subordinate to the other? Does history create literature? Does literature define history? What are the limits of historical criticism in analyzing literary works?

Focus of the Final Research Paper

Use the “themes” list below as a guide and then once you have chosen the theme you want to examine, select two literary texts where you feel this theme is best reflected. You can choose any two texts read in this course but the selections must be from the course textbook. Select one of the following themes for the Final Research Paper:

§ Democracy and reform movements
§ Workers and the Industrial Revolution
§ The “woman question”
§ The “white man’s burden”
§ Imperialism and the colonial project
§ The Great Depression
§ The impact of technology on 20th century warfare § Holocaust/genocide
§ Cold War
§ Nationalism
§ Totalitarianism
§ Decolonization
§ Race & racism
§ Environmentalism and climate change
§ Globalization
§ Hybrid national identities
§ Dystopia
§ Magical realism