UVU Victorian Literature and Politics for the Present (Fall 2020) Dashboard
Description
The Victorian period was one of great change for Britain. Comprised of the years of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901), it featured the rapid industrialization and urbanization of Britain, and the radical expansion of the British empire. Although these changes improved the quality of life for some Victorians, many more were forced to work under inhumane conditions, live in unsanitary and insalubrious environments, or suffered the violent oppressions of colonial rule. While we may think of the Victorian period as a distant, different era, this class argues that Victorians faced some of the same issues we deal with today, including systemic racism, opioid addiction, ecological disasters, and public health crises, to name but a few.
“Victorian Literature and Politics for the Present” revisits texts both familiar and new - canonical and not - through the lens of current events. Addressing a range of genres, this course examines historical and philosophical trends that shaped the era’s literature and were shaped by it. Specifically, it will explore how the Victorians addressed, and sometimes avoided, issues of racial oppression, class conflict, public welfare, and imperial plunder. Moreover, it will consider what parallels and throughlines we can draw between the Victorian era and the twenty-first century and contemplate the value of continuing to study Victorian authors and texts today.
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
Individual Entries
This was the home of one of the first African-American activists and the cofounder of the NAACP. She was famous for fighting against the lynchings that were occurring in the south and publishing very influential papers to help her cause.
This was home to the famous women's movement leader and was turned into a museum to honor her. This was where she was arrested for voting even though she was a woman in 1872. It was also the location of the National American Woman Suffrage Association while Anthony was the president.
This museum is dedicated to the women who were able to help with World War 2 even though they weren't drafted like the men. Women were still able to help the war effort by working in factories and producing different kinds of materials that were desperately needed during the war.
The Liverpool Central Station was built by John Fowler on Ranelagh St. England in 1874. The station was built with an arched shed on the outside that was 65 ft. high and 164 ft. wide. The building was 3 stories tall and was made of sandstone. Information about this railway is sparse due to it being part of the Beeching Axe which closed several train stations and lines because they were becoming too inefficient. When the Liverpool Central Station first opened, only two platforms were available to patrons and the walls were faulty. In 1882, they had to start strengthening the walls of the Liverpool Central Station to maintain the safety of the riders. The train station was part of a strike in 1911. The Disused Train Station Website says that, “the Liverpool General Transport Strike reached its zenith. Thousands of workers...
moreThis is dedicated to the woman who was able to free many slaves through the underground railroad. This house happened to be one of Tubman's many safe houses that were used when she was helping slaves escape.
This was the headquarters of the National Woman's Party. Key member like Alva Belmont and Alice Paul were founded the party here and it has since been turned into a National Monument. The party was known to conduct their business here such as having meetings and writing their many papers fighting for women's equality.
Home of an Irish immigrant Kate Mullany, an early labor activist who founded the first all women union, The Collar Laundry, in 1864. She would later go on to become the Vice President of the National Labor Movement.
Pauli Murray was one of the early leaders of the women's suffrage movement and she even coined the term "Jane Crow" to describe the segregation of women. In 1966 she co-founded the National Organization for Women. Her childhood home is in the works of being repaired and restored in order for it to become a historic landmark. She wrote many papers in favor of the women's suffrage and the inequality between men and women.