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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Exhibition#/media/File:Crystal_Pala…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”—so writes Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities (1859), succinctly capturing the dualities of the Victorian age (1837-1901). In this course, we will explore dualities and contradictions of the Victorian era through fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and the visual arts. We might think of the Victorians as sin-obsessed, dignified, proper, prudish, and tight-laced, but these same Victorians lived in an age of urban squalor, disease, rampant deprivations, prostitution, and child labor. This era of production and consumption witnessed rapid expansion of the British Empire; growth in literacy and industrialization; and the glory of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first ever World’s Fair.  Alongside these achievements came epidemics (typhoid took the life of Prince Albert in 1861); the Crimean War crisis and conflicts in India, Africa, China, and the West Indies; religious doubt; and the greed of imperialism, which underpins Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847). We will encounter the angel in the house and her fallen sister in Christina Rossetti’s Goblin Market (1862); Queen Victoria and Prince Albert alongside their poorest subjects in Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor (1851); a clash between agrarian southern England and the industrial north in Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855); the divided human being in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886); and a scrooge transformed into a charitable man in Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843).  Course work includes 4 briefs, an exhibition on the Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education (COVE), and a final 8–10-page paper.

Timelines, Galleries, and Maps

Corsets | Gallery Image

Corset makers shaped Victorian fashion, yet their work is rarely visible as corsets are intended to be worn as undergarments beneath other layers of clothing. However, like so much else during the Victorian period, corsetry was revolutionized as the designs shifted to fit the body rather than the style of the time. Corsets are intended to provide support to a woman's back and breasts, but the… more

Posted by Hunter Wolf on

The Piano as a Part of the Victorian Home | Gallery Image

I was struck by the importance of pianos within Victorian literature. Victorians viewed piano playing as a useful and impressive task. Women were additonally viewed highly for their aptitude towards music and playing the piano. I was inspired by the way a piano transforms a Victorian household. The family members and their guests gather around the piano to watch the player and/or singer,… more

Posted by Ashley Narsu on

Equestrian Equipment | Gallery Image

In our modern day, members of the upper class primarily participate in equestrian sports due to their expensive nature. However, this was not the case during the Victorian period, as horses were a key aspect of transportation in England as well as the world as a whole, even as trains came onto the scene in the 1840s. As such, equestrian equipment like… more

Posted by Leo VanderPoel on

Writing Desks | Gallery Image

The word 'desk' comes from the Latin 'desca,' which means a table to write on. This definition, however, does not quite tell the entire story, and the Victorian writing desks were certainly far more of a "Swiss Army knife" object than just a hard surface for one to write on. Writing desks in the Victorian era could be likened to laptops in the 21st Century and were commonly used for writing… more

Posted by Eli Cott on

Porcelain in the Victorian Era | Gallery Image

Porcelain, also known as china, is a kind of kiln-fired … more

Posted by Talia Shirley on

Taxidermy on Display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 | Gallery Image

The variety of taxidermied creatures mostly sourced from places far from England's shores on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London represented the Victorian fascination with natural history, exploration, and travel. Just before the exhibition, "gentlemen naturalists," such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, began breaking ground on their soon-to-be published… more

Posted by Mary Timmons on

Vegetation at The Great Exhibition | Gallery Image

The Great Exhibition of 1851, held in London’s Crystal Palace, was a dazzling spectacle of human achievement, but nature, too, played a grand role in this display of innovation and empire. Within the cast iron and glass structure, designed by Joseph Paxton—himself a renowned horticulturist—an extraordinary array of flora and fauna from across the British… more

Posted by Caroline Brown on

Precious Jewels | Gallery Image

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was an extravagent showcase of industry, art, and innovation that captured the world's attention. Among its most dazzling displays were the precious jewels that sparkled and captivated audiences. Precious jewels are emblematic of the Victorian era's fascination with riches and discovery. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited frequently, particularly to see the… more

Posted by Anastasia Rogozinski on

Looking-Glasses as Decorative Furnishings | Gallery Image

The Victorians, especially those of the upper class, valued aesthetics and displays of opulence. Pride in one’s wealth was presented in dress, décor, and furnishings. Large looking glasses as furniture, often called pier mirrors, are an excellent example of such ornamentation. Tall and gilded, these looking glasses were displayed in the homes of the wealthy and were… more

Posted by Margot Kelly on

Papier-Mâché on Display | Gallery Image

Today we associate papier-mâché with elementary school art projects and Halloween costumes, but papier-mâché made a splash at the Great Exhibition of 1851 and impacted the fancy goods trade. In 1837, when Queen Victoria ascended the throne, there were approximately 25 manufacturers of papier-mâché in England. Papier-mâché is the French word for “chewed paper”; did the term arise because French… more

Posted by Catherine Golden on

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