The Upstarts of Grub Street
Christopher Fanning christopher.fanning@queensu.ca
The
early eighteenth century witnessed a rapid expansion of printed
publications, unprecedented levels of literacy, and the emergence of a
new literary economy. The literary establishment called it “Grub
Street” — a dire threat to the traditional world of learning and
letters and the moral-religious and political order. But in
world-historical terms, the new print culture meant the invention of
the public sphere, and with it a conception, for the first time, of the
integrity of private life. Early eighteenth-century England is
famous for its culture of reading, writing, and talking, associated
with coffee houses and the development of the periodical press. The new
print culture initiated a social revolution that allowed at once for a
civil culture that debated politics, as well as the invention of
private life. This gave rise to new subjects for literary
representation (e.g., domestic life), new genres (such as the novel)
and a new voice to non-traditional authors such as Stephen Duck (the
“thresher poet”), Mary Collier (a washer-woman), Mary Barber (a
housewife), Mary Leapor (a kitchen maid), Ann Yearsley (a
milkwoman). Established authors such as Jonathan Swift and
Alexander Pope saw these changes as a threat to their world. On the
other hand, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele aimed their new
periodical, The Spectator, at a non-traditional audience, including
servants and women, because they saw an opportunity to educate a whole
new class of readers. This course will engage with both sides of
the debate, studying the establishment writers alongside the new voices
appearing in print. All of these writers drew attention to questions
about what it means to be an author: who gets to shape the public and
private spheres and how.
This course has different articulations. Please choose the
appropriate syllabus below.
INTS 300--at the International Studies
Centre, Herstmonceux, Summer 2009
ENGL 841--at Queen's University, Kingston, Winter 2010
Internet Readings and Resources: links
to texts we will be reading and relevant criticism.