THE
LEARNING CURVE Winter/Spring 2010
Art History, Archaeology, Astronomy, History, Literature, Philosophy, Music
The Victorians
The Victorian era (1837-1901) coincided with the long period of British global supremacy. As an adjective, Victorian has come to represent repressive attitudes toward sexual matters. Examine the diversity of Victorian England, including the Queen herself, too often permitted to languish in obscurity.
Week 1: Manners and Morals
Our first topic will deal with the alleged quirks of Victorian life as expressed in Sexual attitudes. This will include other determinants of popular culture such as class, race, and gender.
Week 2: Politics
This period accounted for the peaceful transition in the public sphere from aristocracy to democracy, embodied in the Reform Acts of 1832, 1867, and 1884. Yet many Victorians feared for the permanence of the political system when confronted with the threats of Americanization, women and socialism. The resolution of these problems dominated late Victorian politics.
Week 3: Culture
The Victorians produced a wide variety of cultural icons ranging from the sublime to kitsch; we will examine some of these examples from the Crystal Palace to literature to England as ‘Das Land ohne Musik’.
Week 4: Empire
The British Empire was the greatest political construct the world has ever seen. The jubilees of 1887 and 1897 celebrated British imperial accomplishments. A century later, however, the Empire has virtually disappeared. We will examine some of the issues surrounding the rise and fall of imperial Britain.
When: Thursdays, Feb 11 - Mar 4, 1:30-3:30pm
Where: The Windmill Inn, 4250 N. Campbell Ave.
Cost: $89 (4 sessions)
Instructor: Richard A. Cosgrove, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society is the author of The Rule of Law (1980), Our Lady the Common Law (1987), and Scholars of the Law (1996). His most recent work is The Great Tradition: Constitutional History and National Identity in Britain and the United States, 1870-1960 (2007).
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