ENGL2109 - 01 - Print Media & Pol. Revolution 1660-1800

(LI) Literary Inquiry (WI) Writing Intensive

Moving from the unsettling social and political realities of a restored British monarchy (1660) and through the exciting and disenchanting influence of the French Revolution (1789) and its aftermath, this course examines the impact that British Literature had on people who experienced the emergence of the modern world. Increased access to print media, including newspapers and novels, granted authors and readers new modes of entertainment as well as a sense of empowerment through their ability to dictate what kinds of reading material would sell in the publishing world. Print culture also connected the British population to a global economy motivated by the African slave trade and to revolutionary movements that promoted social justice at the intersections of race, gender, and class. Through all the terror and excitement, Literature, defined through a broad spectrum of printed material, helped people envision a place for themselves in a complex world.