In this course we will examine ways in which British art and literature of the "high imperial" period (1870-1914) expressed and shaped the national discourse on imperialism in England. Content includes paintings, sculpture, photography, advertising and newspaper cartoons of colonial subjects (e.g., landscapes, battles, portraits, harems, ethnography) by Victorian painters, newspaper illustrators and photographers (Hunt, Lear, Lewis, Cameron, Leighton, Prior, Deen Dayal); visual culture in international exhibitions; travel literature (Burton, Kingsley); and novels and poems (Tennyson, Kipling, Conrad). This material will be coordinated with histories and theories of colonialism and postcolonialism (Said, Bhabha, Pratt) to explore the role of culture in imperial politics and in the formation of modern notions about race, gender, and national identity. Students will be able to pursue visual and literary interests and the course will focus on the British Empire in India, which consideration given to the empire in Africa and the Middle East.
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FALL 2008 SYLLABUS BRITISH CULTURE AND EMPIRE
ARS 437/ 591 and ENG 426
TTH 9:00-10:15 ART 240
PROF. Terry Schuller OFFICE: ART 250
EMAIL: terry.schuller@asu.edu OFFICE HRS: TTH: 10:30 AM-noon or by appt.
COURSE WEBSITE: http://herbergeronline.asu.edu/empireculture/
EMAIL AND WEBLINKS: You must have an ASU email address. I can only send messages to
you at your @asu.edu address, so please check it every few days.
TO GET ON THE WEBSITE: go to this URL address and click on ACCOUNTS; you will be
told how to get an ID and password. Try these out immediately; let me know if you have
problems.
COURSE WEBSITE HAS: paper guidelines, syllabus, weekly discussion questions, additional
material as needed; updates on ANNOUNCEMENTS, so check website every few days
NOTE: SOME MATERIAL IN THIS COURSE MAY BE SENSITIVE. COURSE READINGS
HAVE MATURE CONTENT; DISCRETION IS ADVISED BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR
THIS COURSE.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS
To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the ASU Disability Resource Center
(Phone: (480) 965-1234; TDD: (480) 965-9000). This is a very important step as accommodations cannot be
made retroactively. If you have a letter from their office indicating that you have a disability which requires
academic accommodations, please present the letter to me no later than the end of the first week of the
semester so we can discuss the accommodations that you might need in this class.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
All necessary and appropriate sanctions will be issued to all parties involved with plagiarizing any and all
course work. Plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty that is in violation of the Student Code of
Conduct will not be tolerated. See Student Academic Integrity Policy at this site:
http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/studentlife/judicial/
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
In this course we will examine ways in which British art and literature of the "high imperial" period (1870-
1914) expressed and shaped the national discourse on imperialism in England. Content includes paintings,
sculpture, photography, advertising and newspaper cartoons of colonial subjects (e.g., landscapes, battles,
portraits, harems, ethnography) by Victorian painters, newspaper illustrators and photographers (Hunt, Lear,
Lewis, Cameron, Leighton, Prior, Deen Dayal); visual culture in international exhibitions; travel literature
(Burton, Kingsley); and novels and poems (Tennyson, Kipling, Conrad). This material will be coordinated
with histories and theories of colonialism and postcolonialism (Said, Bhabha, Pratt) to explore the role of
culture in imperial politics and in the formation of modern notions about race, gender, and national identity.
Students will be able to pursue visual and literary interests and the course will focus on the British Empire in
India, which consideration given to the empire in Africa and the Middle East. Students will learn a basic set
of terms and ideas about the British Empire and explore how the empire was represented in visual and literary
works in Britain.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
• Learn how Victorian culture represented imperial ideas or content (with emphasis on India);
• Learn values associated with imperialism and the impact on colonial subjects;
• Learn vocabulary, concepts, events and important figures of the British empire, c. 1870-1914;
• Explore popular culture topics of world's fairs, advertising, the press;
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• Understand reciprocal relationships among culture, history, actual events;
• Recognize the wide range of Victorians' responses to imperialism;
• Learn to use the web as a source for research and information;
• Learn to use the periodical press as a research tool;
• Gain geographical knowledge of colonies’ locations;
• Be able to coordinate analyses of image and text;
• Learn to share ideas with peers;
• Learn to present ideas clearly in speaking and writing.
ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW (also on course website):
1-WEB ASSIGNMENT DUE EVERY TUESDAY: 26 points total Web assignments,
cited on the syllabus, consist of brief biographies, definitions, historical summaries.
2-MIDTERM: 25 points. OCTOBER 13. THERE WILL BE NO MAKEUP TEST unless
you have an emergency; a make up test requires PRIOR APPROVAL from the
instructor before the scheduled test.
3-DISCUSSION: 14 points total. This implies attendance—you cannot participate if you are not
there! Weekly discussion questions are in each lesson assignment. They will guide you to the
most important points of the readings. You will be expected to prepare them informally so
you can participate in discussions. You are welcome to raise any other questions or issues you
want to discuss and are not limited to the weekly questions.
4. Leading Discussion: Each of you will lead discussion on one reading: 5 points
You will present the main points of the reading and questions the reading raises. You may
choose any reading you like from the reading assignments' secondary sources. You will use
the "reading assignment presentation" form on the Assignments site.
5-Paper presentation: 5 points. Each of you will present an early version of your paper for 10-
15 minutes. This requires planning, preparation and a well-organized set of issues. You may
prepare handouts and send them to me and I will make copies for the class, or you may use
projection if you like. Bring your images to me on a
6- UNDERGRADUATE PAPER-25 points. 12 pages. Electronically submitted parts are:
1-TOPIC: OCTOBER 6: work or works you will be examining
2-THESIS--1 OR 2 SENTENCES ONLY--and BIBLIOGRAPHY: NOVEMBER 3
See Research Bibliography in Assignments
3-OUTLINE--ONE PAGE ONLY: NOVEMBER 19
4- IN HARD COPY-FINAL PAPER and CHECKSHEET (found in Assignments) in hard
copy due on FINAL EXAM DAY
GENERAL FORMAT:
a- READ PAPER GUIDELINES on COURSE WEBSITE: FOLLOW THEM TO THE
LETTER!
b-Text is 12 pages, bibliography and ENDNOTES begin on page 13.
c- Use 12-point Times or Times New Roman font, double-spaced
d- NO HEADING (only your name & paper title SINGLE-SPACED on 1st page), and page numbers.
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e- Use at least 2 readings from research bibliography on course website. Readings CANNOT
include websites. Sources outside the bibliography must be approved by the instructor.
f- See Library Resources in Assignments for information on using the Victorian press for
your papers.
GRADUATE STUDENTS: final paper needs to be 15 pages of text and you will need to use 3
secondary readings from research bibliography (NO websites). Sources outside the
bibliography must be approved by the instructor. All rules above apply.
FINDING A PAPER TOPIC--these can be in history, literature, art, or interdisciplinary (e.g.,
image and text). See "Finding a Topic" in "Assignments" on course website.
REQUIRED READINGS (available from HAYDEN LIBRARY RESERVE, ASU Bookstore, online
(except Said) and through syllabus if designated CLICK TO READ (except Said):
Said, Edward. Orientalism
Kipling, Rudyard. Kim
Burton, Richard. Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah, v.1
Kingsley, Mary. Travels in West Africa.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness.
LESSON 1, Aug 25/27 THE EMPIRE: Introduction and Background
WEB ASSIGNMENT 1:
1-Answer the following two questions in ONE PARAGRAPH:
On the Victorian Research Web http://victorianresearch.org/
1-What kinds of resources are available on this site?
2- Click on “Other Victorian Resources” and find "the British Empire"—what are some
things or topics available through that link?
2-GO TO Victorian Web http://www.victorianweb.org/
Click on Political History and find the empire: AN INTRODUCTION page: list some of the
topics cited on that page
3- Summarize in one paragraph an online history of the East India Company
READING:
Froude, James. Oceana: or England and Her Colonies, excerpts, CLICK TO READ
PREPARE informal answers to Questions on Froude in this lesson.
LOOK AT 2 maps of the British Empire on course website.
DUE THURSDAY:
Read landscape and encounters excerpts from course website to compare and contrast these in class
according to the list of issues in the discussion questions. Print them out for class discussion and be
prepared to answer "Compare Contrast descriptions"
Answer questions on Froude excerpts.
LESSON 2, Sept 1/3 POETRY
WEB ASSIGNMENT 2:
1-Go to British Empire site and link to biographies and find Kipling. Summarize his biography in ONE
paragraph—include birth and death dates (years only) in EVERY web assignment bio:
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/
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2- Find an online biography of Tennyson and summarize in ONE PARAGRAPH
3- Go to any website and summarize in one paragraph the Indian Mutiny/Rebellion 1857-58
LOOK AT image of Queen Victoria Presenting the Bible on course website.
LOOK AT Map of North Africa and the Middle East in this lesson
READING:
Kipling: "The Ballad of East and West” (1889), "'Fuzzy-Wuzzy” (1898), "Gunga Din" (1898),
"Mandalay” (1898), "The White Man's Burden” (1899) CLICK TO READ.
Tennyson: "Hands All Around" (1852), "Charge of the Light Brigade" (1855), "The Defence of
Lucknow" (1879), "Epitaph on General Gordon" (1885) CLICK TO READ
Robert Macdonald, Language of Empire, ch. 5, "The Laureate of Empire," 145-62. CLICK TO READ.
Deirdre David, Rule Britannia, "Tennyson's Colonial Mother," pp. 167-181. CLICK TO READ.
Listening Assignment: Listen to Tennyson read his poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” at
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=1569 OR
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/poetry/outloud/tennyson.shtml
Listen to the historical information and the bugle call for the Charge of the Light Brigade in
NPR’s 10-minute sequence at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4123120
LESSON 3, Sept. 8/10 ORIENTALISM
WEB ASSIGNMENT 3:
1- Look up Orientalism in Wikipedia. Summarize the main points.
2- Briefly define Orientalism from this site: http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Orientalism.html
3- Go the British Empire site, click TIMELINE and explore the 19th c timeline; print out the events for
ONE YEAR between 1875-1899: http://www.britishempire.co.uk/
4- briefly describe the biography of Edward Said from any web source
READING:
Edward Said, Orientalism, entire book; skim for main ideas
DS12 .S24 1978 AND DS12 .S24 1979 RESERVE and ASU BOOKSTORE
John Mackenzie, Orientalism, CHAPTER 1. CLICK TO READ.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT:
List 8 characteristics of Orientalism
LESSON 4, Sept 15/17 ORIENTALIST PAINTERS: THE HAREM
WEB ASSIGNMENT 4:
1-Go to wikipedia and summarize in one paragraph John Frederick Lewis's biography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Frederick_Lewis
2- Find on any website biographies of William Holman Hunt and Frederick Leighton and summarize
EACH in ONE PARAGRAPH: focus on their colonial-related activities.
3- Go to http://www.britishempire.co.uk/art/artandempire.htm and summarize in ONE PARAGRAPH the
comments on the first page about the relationship between art and empire
4- at http://www.britishempire.co.uk/, click on Middle East and print out the map:
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/mideast.htm
READING: POWERPOINT Orientalism and the Harem
Emily Weeks, "Imperial Peripheries: John Frederick Lewis." CLICK TO READ
Joan DelPlato, Multiple Wives, Multiple Pleasures, chs. 1- 2, pp. 19-57. CLICK TO READ.
OPTIONAL: Christine Peltre, Orientalism in art. N8217.E88 P4513 1998 ON RESERVE
5. 5
LESSON 5, Sept 22/24 THEORY
WEB ASSIGNMENT 5:
1- Look up Indirect Rule and define it briefly
READING:
Short excerpts on Mimicry, Hybridity and Third Space CLICK TO READ
Nochlin, Linda, "The Imaginary Orient," CLICK TO READ & CLICK TO SEE REPRODUCTIONS
Homi Bhabha, Location of Culture, CHAPTER 1. CLICK to READ.
Lisa Lowe, Critical Terrains, pp. 1-15; and 190-200. CLICK TO READ
John Mackenzie, Orientalism, CHAPTER 3. CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 6, Sept 29/Oct 1 LANDSCAPES and WARS
WEB ASSIGNMENT 6:
1- Summarize a biography of Edward Lear in one paragraph.
2- Summarize biography of Samuel Bourne at:
http://www.harappa.com/photographers/bournesamuel.html
3- Summarize a biography of William Holman Hunt
4- Summarize a biography of Francis Frith
READING:
POWERPOINTS: (1) Orientalism and Landscape, (2) Imperial Wars in Art
Melton Prior obituary CLICK TO READ
Potter, Matthew, "British Art and Empire," Media History, 13/1 (April 2007), 1-23. CLICK TO READ
Charge of the Light Brigade
OPTIONAL:
Joseph Lawton photos (under Ruins) http://www.imagesofceylon.com/ioc-ruins.htm
LESSON 7. Oct 6/8 ETHNOGRAPHY, PORTRAITURE, PHOTOGRAPHY
TOPIC/WORKS to be analyzed DUE ELECTRONICALLY BY 8 AM TUESDAY, OCT 6
WEB ASSIGNMENT 7:
1- Summarize online biography of Cetawayo in one paragraph
2- Summarize the Archaeological Survey of India in one short paragraph from any online source
3- Summarize biography of Duleep Singh
4- Summarize some things on this site: http://www.deendayal.com/
READING:
POWERPOINTS (1) Ethnography and Portraiture, (2) Photography and Ethnography
Emily Weeks, “About Face: Sir David Wilkie’s Portrait of Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt,” in Orientalism
Transposed, eds. Codell and Macleod CLICK TO READ
Julie Codell typescript, Portraits of Maharajas. CLICK TO READ
WEEK 8, Oct 13/15 THE PRESS AND ADVERTISING
6. 6
MIDTERM TUES OCT 13
WEB ASSIGNMENT 8:
1-Go to Victorian Web periodicals page and summarize in ONE PARAGRAPH the introduction to the
Illustration London News: http://www.victorianweb.org/periodicals/index.html
READING:
POWERPOINT The Press and Advertising
Anne McClintock, Imperial Leather, ch. 5, "Soft-Soaping Empire," 207-31. CLICK TO READ.
Catherine Anderson, "A Zulu King in Victorian London," Visual Resources 24/3 (2008), 299-320 CLICK
TO READ.
OPTIONAL:
Krebs, Paula. Gender, Race, and the Writing of Empire. Chapter 1. CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 9, Oct 20/22 KIPLING Kim
KIM ON RESERVE PR4854 .K4 2005 OR CLICK TO READ OR
ONLINE at http://www.readbookonline.net/read/206/6590/
OR http://www.readprint.com/work-935/Rudyard-Kipling
IF you read an online version, I recommend you also read the afterward in the reserve copy.
WEB ASSIGNMENT 9:
1- Summarize biography of John Lockwood Kipling in one paragraph
2- Briefly explain the Great Game
READINGS:
MAPS in this lesson. Compare and contrast 3 maps for changes in British rule in India
Sara Suleri, The Rhetoric of English India, ch 5, "The Adolescence of Kim," 111-31. CLICK TO READ.
Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes, Chapter 1, "Introduction," CLICK TO READ
LESSON 10, Oct 27/29 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
WEB ASSIGNMENT 10:
1-a. Great Exhibition 1851, briefly describe in one paragraph what these sites offer:
http://www.tu-cottbus.de/BTU/Fak2/TheoArch/Wolke/eng/Bibliography/ExpoBibliography.htm
http://www.victorianstation.com/palace.html
b. Colonial and Indian Exhibition 1886:
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/0/5/doc/mp005431.shtml
2- Summarize biography of Sir Henry Cole (1808-82) in one paragraph, focusing on his art and art
administration achievements.
3- Summarize biography of Owen Jones
READING:
POWERPOINT International Exhibitions
Codell typescript, "Mapping International Exhibitions" CLICK TO READ
Two poems on the 1886 exhibition. CLICK TO READ.
Saloni Mathur, "Living ethnological exhibits: the case of 1886," Cultural Anthropology, 15/4 (Nov
2000), 492-524. CLICK TO READ
Essay on The Great Exhibition, CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 11 Nov 3/5 COLLECTING and ORIENTAL GOODS
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THESIS, 1-2 sentences, & BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE ELECTRONICALLY TUES, 11/3
WEB ASSIGNMENT 11:
1- Summarize in one paragraph the history of the Victoria and Albert Museum
2- Summarize in one paragraph the history of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum
3. Summarize a biography of John Forbes Watson
4. Summarize a biography of John William Kaye
READING:
POWERPOINT Collecting and Oriental Goods
Carol A. Breckenridge, “The Aesthetics and Politics of Colonial Collecting; India at World Fairs,”
Comparative Studies in Society and History, 31/2 (Apr 1989), 195-216. CLICK TO READ
Swadi Chattopadhyay, "A Critical History of Architecture in a Post-Colonial World," CLICK TO READ
OPTIONAL:
Timothy Mitchell, "The World as Exhibition," Comparative Studies in Society and History, 31/2 (Apr
1989), 217-36. CLICK TO READ
Julian Vigo, "Discourses of Modernity and the New" 2005 CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 12, Nov 10/12 BURTON: IMAGE AND TEXT
WEB ASSIGNMENT 12:
1-GO to Richard Burton website and summarize his life in one paragraph:
http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/burton/
2-On maps and colonialism, summarize in one paragraph:
http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/maps.html
READING:
POWERPOINT: Burotn, Kingsley
Burton Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah (1893), v.1. read approximately 100 pages
RESERVE DS207 .B97 v.1 OR CLICK TO READ OR ONLINE at http://burtoniana.org/
Nichols, Ahston, "Silencing the Other: The Discourse of Domination in 19th c. Exploration Narrative,"
Nineteenth-Century Studies, 3 (1989). 1-22. CLICK TO READ.
Map of Burton's trip: Burton's trip.pdf.pict
LESSON 13, Nov 17/19 KINGSLEY, EMPIRE AND GENDER
ONE-PAGE OUTLINE DUE ELECTRONICALLY 8 AM, THURSDAY, 11/19
Travels in West Africa, read approx. 100 pages. RESERVE DT471 .K55 1965
OR CLICK TO READ OR ONLINE at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5891.
WEB ASSIGNMENT 13:
1- from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/page/k/kingsley.shtml summarize Kingsley’s life
2- go to Gertrude Bell project website and summarize her life http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/
3- http://www.lovellbiographies.com/ascandalouslife/ascandalouslife.html summarize Jane Digby's life
4-On Victorian women travelers, summarize: http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Travel.html
5- Write a few sentences describing the Fang tribe in West Africa.
READING:
Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes, on travel writing (there are 2 parts; the pdf file continues the short
Word document). CLICK TO READ.
8. 8
Mills, Sara. Discourses of Difference, Introduction, 1-27 CLICK TO READ.
OPTIONAL: Alison Blunt, Travel, Gender and Imperialism, excerpts. CLICK TO READ
Sara Mills, Discourses of Difference, 153-74 ch. 6. CLICK TO READ
Karen Lawrence, Penelope Voyages, ch. 3. CLICK TO READ
Maria Frawley. A Wider Range, pp. 103-130. CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 14, Nov 24 CONRAD Conrad, Heart of Darkness
RESERVE PR6005.O4 H4 1995c OR CLICK TO READ (in 3 parts)
http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/Literature/Conrad/HeartOfDarkness/ OR
ONLINE at http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ConDark.html
WEB ASSIGNMENT 14:
1-Go the British Empire site, summarize Conrad's biography: http://www.britishempire.co.uk/
2-On Wikipedia, summarize biography of Raja James Brooke of Sarawak
3-Read Cecil Rhodes’s biography from these two sites and compare/contrast them in one paragraph:
http://www.bartleby.com/65/rh/Rhodes-C.html and
http://www.britishempire.co.uk/biography/rhodes.htm
READING:
Chinua Achebe, "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness," in Achebe, Hopes and
Impediments, 1-13. CLICK TO READ.
LESSON 15, Nov Dec 1/3: FINISH CONRAD student presentations
LESSON 16, DEC 8 student presentations
PAPERS DUE ON FINAL EXAM DAY, THURSDAY, DEC 10, 9 AM, Art 250