The course will examine the representation of the differently- abled and neuro-diverse in Victorian literature and culture. At a time when British society linked “normal” bodies to the health of the nation, literary texts explore anxieties around non-normative or “deviant” bodies. We will read a selection of literary texts and historical documents as well as current theories regarding (dis)ability. In an attempt to understand the Victorians’ fascination with “freak” shows including the “Hottentot Venus,” we will also consider visual images.
Novels may include: Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843); George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss (1860); Elizabeth Gaskell, Mary Barton (1848); Wilkie Collins, Hide and Seek (1854); R.L. Stevenson, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
Contemporary theoretical texts will include: Lennard Davis, ed. The Disability Studies Reader and Enforcing Normalcy; Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Staring: How We Look and Extraordinary Bodies; Robert McRuer Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability,
Assessment will be based on a seminar presentation; a presentation of a visual image; and a final paper
