The Public and the Private in Long Eighteenth-Century Britain

THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE IN LONG EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITAIN

Michael McKeon, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 18:15-20:00

The aim of this course will be to understand the British long eighteenth century as having laid the foundations for the modern idea and institution of the public, the private, and their relationship. We will pursue this aim by reading some of the most important authors and texts of the period—poetry, narratives, and images, as well as periodical essays and treatises on political theory, social theory, economy, and science.

This syllabus gives the readings that should be done in preparation for the class dates for which they’re listed. Readings exist as files and can be downloaded and printed out from folders that are available

1)The number of the folder in which each reading can be found is given here on the right-hand side of the reading (except for Smollett’s novel, which we’ll read in a hard copy). In almost all cases, there will be more than one text or file in any given folder; however they’re not grouped in the order in which we’ll be reading them.

2)The syllabus lists in boldface those pages of a text that you should be sure to read in preparation for each class. Some short texts will be entirely in boldface.This is the minimal reading for each class; please read more if you’re able to! In addition, other texts not in boldface are listed for a given class. These are important readings that you should at least take a look at. I’ll be referring to all readings listed for each class.

3)Explanatory footnotes or endnotes are provided for many of the readings. These can be very useful in making sense of obscure references and arguments.

4)This is predominantly a lecture course. However asking questions and offering comments enhances learning, and I greatly encourage your participation!

5) Three secondary texts provide discussions of different aspects of a central

argument of the course: Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the

Public Sphere ([1962] trans. 1989), folder 6; Jean-Christophe Agnew, Worlds

Apart: The Market and the Theater in Anglo-American Thought, 1550-1750

(1986), folder 5; Charles Taylor, “Modern Social Imaginaries,” Public Culture,

14/1 (2002) (folder 5). Please sample these at your convenience; I’ll be referring to

them from time to time.

* * * * *

FOLDER:

Oct. 4 Introduction to the course. Floor plans for Longleat House will be

distributed (see Folder 10).

*Politics

6 Sir Robert Filmer, Patriarcha (written 1636-41, printed 1680). 1

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1689), 285-87, 288-89, 300, 1

301-2,303-7, 308-13, 314, 315-20, 334-38, 339, 340-1, 348-51, 365-67,

368-71.

11Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 5

12th ed. (1793). (2 files)

Mary Astell, Reflections upon Marriage, 3rd ed. (1706), and

A Serious Proposal to the Ladies (1697), 69-72, 73-75, 76,

84-85, 86, 99-104, 105-16, 129-32, 179.

Edward Wettenhall, Enter into thy Closet: or, A Method for private 1

Devotion (1663), frontispiece.

Daniel Defoe, A Review of the State of the English Nation(1704-13)vol. III, 6

no. 5; vol. V, no. 107; vol. VI,nos. 31, 32, 33; vol. VII, nos. 55, 57, 58, 59,

102, 116, 117, 118, 134, 135, 136; vol. VIII, nos. 38, 39.

*Economy

13 Defoe, The Compleat English Gentleman(written 1728), 11-12, 13-18, 43-58, 2

59-61, 62-63, 256-62.

Joseph Addison, Spectator, no. 69 (May 19, 1711). 1

Jonathan Swift, Examiner, no. 13 Nov. 2, 1710), no. 34 (Mar. 29, 1711). 7

18 Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776), 13-15, 16-24, 25-30, 44-51, 452-56, 2

537-38, 539-40, 541, 668-75, 686-87.

*Civil Society, Status, and Class

20 Thomas Sprat, The History of the Royal Society of London (1667), frontispiece, 1

1-5, 52-57, 58-60, 61-65, 66-76, 92-96, 97-100, 111-13, 114-15.

Sir Richard Steele, Tatler, no. 1 (Apr. 12, 1709), no. 116 (Jan. 5, 1710), 1

no. 144 (Mar. 11, 1710), no. 162 (Apr. 22, 1710).

Addison, Spectator, no. 1 (Mar. 1, 1711), no. 10 (Mar. 12, 1711). 1

SamuelJohnson, Rambler, no. 23 (June 5, 1750). 3

*The Publication of the Private

25 The World Is Ruled & Governed by Opinion (1642). 2

A Lock’d Jaw For John Bull (1795). 2

Andrew Marvell, The Rehearsal Transpros’d (1672, 1673), xi-xxi, 3-7, 9-10, 2

27-32, 45-46, 47-48, 49, 50-61, 94, 95, 96-97, 98-99, 100-1, 102-3, 104-5,

110, 111-12, 113-15, 116-17, 129-33, 134-35, 142-45,146, 147 (title page, part 2),

148-51, 156-57, 158-67, 168-69, 170, 171, 184-87, 202-4, 231-37, 263-65.

27 Anthony Ashley Cooper. 3rd earl of Shaftesbury, “Soliloquy: or, Advice to an 3

Author,” inCharacteristicks (1711), 85-87, 88-89, 90, 91, 92-94, 95-96,

100-6, 107-8, 109-13, 137-8, 139-40, 141-44, 145, 157-58, 165-67, 168-69,

170-1 (remaining pages can be ignored).

Nov. 1 Swift, “A Tale of a Tub” and “The Battel of the Books” (1704, 1710), 1-34, 9

35-103, 104-5, 105-25.

*Marriage, Sex, and Gender

3 [Review Filmer, Locke, Blackstone, Astell]

William Hogarth, “The Marriage Contract”(1745). 10

Description of “The Marriage Contract.” 5

George Morland, “The Fruits of Early Industry and Economy” (1789). 1

Defoe, Conjugal Lewdness, or Matrimonial Whoredom(1727), 25-37, 38-39, 7

166-67, 168-80. (2 files)

Steele, Tatler, no. 172 (May 16, 1710); Spectator, no. 66 (May 16, 1711). 1

Addison, Spectator, no. 57 (May 5, 1711), no. 128 (July 27, 1711), 1

no. 295 (Feb. 7, 1712).

Thomas Rowlandson, “The Man of Feeling” (1788). 10

*Domestication

8 [Review Defoe, Review]

Steele, Tatler, no. 217 (Aug. 29, 1710). 1

Swift, The Story of the Injured Lady (written c. 1707). 3

Johnson, Rambler, no. 60 (Oct. 13, 1750). 3

10 Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (1714, 1717). 8

Topic of comparison: Aphra Behn’s Love-Letters between a Nobleman and

His Sister (1684, 1685, 1687) and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela (1740).

*Pastoral

15 John Dryden, “To My Honour’d Kinsman, John Driden of Chesterton” 3

(1700).

17 Tobias Smollett,The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771).

22 Smollett, Humphry Clinker.

*The Aesthetic Imagination

24 Addison, Spectator, no. 411 (June 21, 1712), no. 416 (June 27, 1712), 1

no. 418 (June 30, 1712).

Johnson, “Preface” to The Plays of William Shakespeare (1765), 1066-67, 4

1068-71, 1072-73, 1074-1075.

Pope, Peri Bathous or Of the Art of Sinking in Poetry (1728), 389-91, 8

392-427, 428-30, 421-32, 433-38.

29 Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), 9-13, 16-26, 5, 4

43-48, 50-53, 61-62, 69, 70-71, 82-87,109-13, 134-37, 181-82, 183-85,

190-91, 314-17.

Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), 1270-71,

1272-74, 1275,1276, 1276-78, 1279, 1279-80, 1281-82, 1283, 1284, 1285, 4

1286-88.

William Collins, “An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of

Scotland, Considered as the Subject of Poetry” (written 1749-50). 5

Dec. 1 Conclusion.