3-3-0

In this course we shall examine a diverse range of 18th century texts that have one thing in common: each uses travel as a plot-triggering device. We will begin the course with a reflection on what travel is, what forms it takes, and why we do it. We shall then consider why travel is such a pervasive narrative form in post-Restoration Britain. Among issues to be considered are contemporary debates on human nature and civilization, as well as relationships between scientific, historical, commercial, and colonial discourses in an age of vigorous exploration.



Professor Grogan