Scandalous Victorians

This course examines the literature and culture of Victorian Britain through the lens of scandal, analyzing the representation of different types of scandal in a variety of literary genres as well as representative historical episodes. We will ask why some kinds of transgressions become scandalous and will explore what kinds of responses are evoked and foreclosed by the rhetoric of scandal. Particular attention will be paid to gender, sexuality, class and social mobility, and national and imperial identity, as well as to the dynamics of scandal and the processes of social change.