About the Course

Program Director: Dr. Melissa McLeod, mmcleod1@gsu.edu

Victorian London’s Underworld will examine nineteenth-century British literature that focuses on segments of the London population who were dispossessed, at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder: orphans, pickpockets, prostitutes, theater people, occultists. We’ll explore Victorian streets, alleyways, homes, music halls, and museums to learn about how the underclass lived; Victorian experiences will come to life through the educational walking tours, museum visits, and other explorations. Stepping into the shoes of a homeless orphan or downtrodden prostitute will make the Victorian literature we study more understandable with cultural and historical knowledge.

This course is designed to achieve the following objectives: 1) to illustrate how literature and popular cultural productions are influenced by history and culture; and, conversely, how literary and cultural output may influence historical events and cultural movements; and 2) to introduce critical theory or expand students’ existing knowledge of it with a focus on cultural studies.

Calendar and Itinerary

Friday, January 13 Class: Background on Victorian London and 19 th c. Literature

Friday, January 27 Class: Dickens

Friday, February 10 Class: Levy

Friday, February 17 Class: Morrison and Doyle

Friday, March 3 Pre-departure Orientation

Friday, March 10 Depart Atlanta

Saturday, March 11 Scavenger Hunt

Sunday, March 12 Dickens Tour (9:30am @ Temple Tube Station) & Dickens Museum (1pm)

Monday, March 13 Tate Britain, Victorian & Albert Museum (2:30 private tour), and Wilton’s Music Hall (6pm)

Tuesday, March 14 East End tour (10am Aldgate East Tube Station), Museum of London Docklands, and a Thames River Cruise (afternoon tea) 3pm @ Tower Pier, Boarding Point D or E

Wednesday, March 15 Westminster Abbey tour (9:30am), Much Ado about Nothing at the Haymarket Theatre (Dinner @ 6pm, play @7:30pm)

Thursday, March 16 Victorian London tour (Southwark Cathedral @ 9:30)

Friday, March 17 Free Day (St. Patrick’s Day!)

Saturday, March 18 Depart London