Science and Literature in the Nineteenth Century

This course looks at the interactions between literature and science from a cultural, historical, and literary perspective. Since it gained its first popular foothold in the early nineteenth century, science and its methods have come to dominate the Western collective consciousness, determining in many ways how we interpret â?? and how we express â?? our reality. This preoccupation with science and discovery can be found throughout literature, both as celebration and as critique. Focusing on scienceâ??s rise in popular culture, and looking at texts ranging from poetry, fiction, essays, and drama to influential scientific narratives of the period, the course may include discussions of exploration and travel writing, representations of science and scientists in literature, cultural influences of and on scientific discoveries, and the complex intersections between nineteenth-century scientific advancement and literary production.