Middlebury

ENGL 0225

Forms of Enlightenment

Forms of Enlightenment: Long Eighteenth-Century Literature and Culture (Pre-1800)
In this course, we will explore the development of literary genres, forms, and institutions in long eighteenth-century (1660-1830) Britain and its empire. We will track how writers in the period reimagined knowledge production, social organization, and politics in print. As we consider the key questions of the moment—the relationships between sensations, ideas, and truth; between reason, sympathy, and self-interest—we will attend carefully to the contradictions, exclusions, and omissions that structure Enlightenment thought, particularly with respect to questions of race and colonialism. Authors might include Aphra Behn, Henry Neville, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Sarah Scott, Adam Smith, Olaudah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho, Edmund Burke, and Phillis Wheatley Peters. 3 hrs. lect./disc. (Formerly ENAM 0225)
Subject:
English
Department:
English
Division:
Literature
Requirements Fulfilled:
EUR LIT
Equivalent Courses:

Sections in Fall 2022

Fall 2022

ENGL0225A-F22 Lecture (Sheldon)