This course begins with Romanticism—its critique of the Enlightenment, its insistence that there is more to being human than reason, and its new way of envisioning the relationship between the individual and nature as well as between the individual and society. Romanticism began in Germany at the very end of the 18th century, was brought to England via Coleridge and Wordsworth, and crossed the Atlantic to America. Each of the segments on the 19th century should address, in its own way, Romanticism. Segments 1 & 3 will each include at least one nineteenth-century novel.

Segment 1: America: Expanding the Boundaries

This segment traces the development of the United States from a republic of thirteen states to the emergence of the modern nation state in the period after the Civil War. The focus will be on the formation of a national identity. Topics covered will include (1) discussions in politics, literature, and science about racial and national identity (who is/is not/can be/cannot be an American); (2) the accelerating westward expansion, its causes and attendant conflicts, including the wars of expansion and the organization of acquired lands; (3) questions of political and economic organization culminating in the Civil War and the Indian wars of the late century; and (4) the literature of celebration and cultural critique—from romantic assertions of the individual and national "Manifest Destiny," to the mid-century and post-War discussions of immigration, labor unrest, and urbanization.?

Segment 2: Nineteenth-Century Art

This segment studies nineteenth-century artistic movements, as they give vital expressions to the anxieties and aspirations studied in the other two segments of this course. Students will explore neo-classicism, romanticism, naturalism, impressionism, and post-impressionism. Although the focus will be on painting, other media—including architecture, photography, and music—may be studied as well.? Segment 3: Nineteenth-Century Europe This segment examines the social, philosophical, and national tensions and aspirations in nineteenth-century Europe. Focus will be on the effects of the Industrial Revolution—urbanization, shifts in gender roles, social angst, a new bourgeois culture, the rise of the labor movement, etc. Focus will also be on the rise of nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism, culminating in the outbreak of World War I.