Course Readings

Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford (1853; Penguin, 2006).

With a series of sketches, the novel lovingly describes the "adventures" of middle-aged ladies in the quiet country village of Cranford in the 1830s. Despite their poverty, residents of the village are kind, decent, and thoroughly proper. The novel was highly popular in its day. Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens, who first accepted Cranford for publication in his magazine Household Words.

Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South (1855; Penguin, 1996).

A revolutionary social and political commentary, North and South solidified Gaskell's place in the company of Victorian England's finest novelists. This Norton Critical Edition of her best-selling novel is annotated and edited by preeminent Gaskell scholar Alan Shelston.

Gaskell was born Elizabeth Cleghorn Stevenson on September 29, 1810. Her family lived in Chelsea (now Cheyne Walk.) After her mother died when Gaskell was still a toddler, her father, William, took her to North England to stay with an aunt. He remarried and did not see her again until she was twelve years old, causing her to feel abandoned. At twenty, she married William Gaskell, a Unitarian minister like her father, and moved to 1 Dover Street, Manchester. She had four daughters and worked as a pastor’s wife among the young girls who labored long hours in the city’s cotton mills. A frequent traveler, the nature of her foreign correspondence reveals that she was a private person—she wanted the letters burned—who was more industrious and organized than passionate.

Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1867; Cambridge University Press, 2001).

Walter Bagehot's anatomy of the English constitution is a classic of English political writing. In this new Cambridge Texts edition it appears for the first time in its original (1867) book version, with Bagehot's original conclusion, and the substantial introduction written for the second edition of 1872. Paul Smith's introduction places Bagehot's views in the context of contemporary events and prevalent views of the working of the constitution, indicating their relation to his developing ideas on the anthropological and sociological springs of authority. He assesses the accuracy of Bagehot's account of parliamentary government in operation and the way in which Bagehot exemplifies the difficulties faced by British liberalism in coming to terms with the approach of democracy. All the usual student-friendly features of the Cambridge Texts series are present, including a select bibliography and brief biographies of key figures, and annotation that explains some of Bagehot's more arcane contemporary allusions.

John Stuart Mill, The Spirit of the Age, On Liberty, the Subjection of Women (1869; W. W. Norton, 1996).

This long-anticipated Norton Critical Edition represents an extensive revision of its predecessor, On Liberty, edited by the late David Spitz. Alan Ryan's provocative introduction lays out the central issues debated by John Stuart Mill's many interpreters; in addition, it assesses Mill's historical significance and provides a brief account of his life.

In recent years, scholars have increasingly focused on the connection between On Liberty and Mill's other writings. This Norton Critical Edition brings together three major essays that illustrate Mill's liberal political philosophy over the course of his life: "The Spirit of the Age" (1831), On Liberty (1859), and The Subjection of Women (1869). Related excerpts from John Stuart Mill's Autobiography (1873, published posthumously) are also included. Each text is accompanied by explanatory annotations.

Primary and Secondary Source Readings (available on Blackboard)

Most primary and secondary source readings are available on Blackboard, although occasionally we'll ask you to look at a site on the Web or some artwork that will be posted in the Food for Thought. The actual reading assignment for each day is listed in the Class Schedule. All primary and secondary source readings are required.

Movies

During the semester, we will show a few movies, all of which are required viewing. Questions about these movies may very well appear on the Final Exam. Click on the film reel above to access a description of the movies. Information about show times also appear in the Class Schedule under the relevant week and day.

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Copyrighted by Hugh Dubrulle and Meg Cronin, 2006.