ENGL 330 Colonialism and the Definition of the Human in 18th-Century British Literature
We will examine both literary and philosophical texts to determine how notions of the human both conditioned and were conditioned by the diverse experiences with populations deemed colonizable by various European powers, with a particular focus on England. Philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau drew on travellers' reports concerning Africa, South Asia and the Americas to support their arguments about whether there was something like human nature, and, if so, what its characteristics were. 18th-century British literary texts such as Aphra Behn's Oroonoko, John Dryden's Aurung-Zebe, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and Alexander Pope's "Windsor Forest," among others, work to develop or bring to life the images and ideas found in both the reports of travellers and the philosophical texts of the time, and in doing so expose the unacknowledged assumptions they contain.
Major Requirement Met: Group 2
Prerequisite
One 100- or 200-level ENGL course or junior or senior standing