Harford County, Maryland

A doctor in Maryland in 1810 gave an interesting account of two pregnancies and births he claimed to have witnessed which resulted in twins being born different races.  The doctor claims the differences between the skin color and race of the children stems from the fact that they have different fathers.  In both cases, the women have sex with both a white man and a black man.  In these cases, the children are considered either white, black, or biracial as a result of who their perceived father is.  This indicates that race was understood by Victorians to be a

New York

The New York Journal of Medicine published this table in 1850 regarding the brain sizes of different races.  Looking at this table, it is clear that the white doctors who created it considered whiteness to be dependent upon the supposed biologic superiority of the white race.  Their ideas of superiority are displayed as they claim that white people (the “modern caucasion group”) have the largest brain size.  Today, we know that these findings are untrue, there is no significa

Valparaiso University

Through our research, we’ve open up many different areas of conversation regarding 19th century women finding their voice. Through the use of primary and secondary sources, we’ve been able to discover how emerging feminist movement allowed Victiorian women writers to find and use their voice to fight against their oppressors, giving them a platform to defend themselves and share their views.

Victorian Literature and Conceptions of Whiteness

Submitted by Katharina Depenthal on

This map holds various poingnet historical and geographical landmarks in the Victorain age which shaped the conceptions of whiteness housed within the pages of Harriet Wilson's and Charlotte Bronte's novels.  By contextualizing these novels, and their ideas surrounding race, we hope to clarify their meanings more fully and to discuss the implications of their texts and ideas.

Introduction:

Barton Cottage

Barton Cottage is the fictional home of the Dashwood women in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility (1813). It is located in Devonshire in the novel and thus a very long way from Norland Park, Norland Estate, in Sussex, where they had lived with their father, Mr. Henry Dashwood, nephew of "the old Gentleman" who instead of leaving the estate to Mr. Henry Dashwood, left it to Mr. Henry Dashwood's son (by his first wife), Mr. John Dashwood and then to John's four-year old son." This decision puts the Dashwood women of Mr.

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