This course examines the emergence - and the multiple trajectories - of the "case study" as a genre central to Victorian culture. Examining a range of materials, including government documents, literary and journalistic materials, and photographs, we will explore the idea of the ‘representative body' undergirding this genre, and assess the genre's representational validity in Victorian culture. Our discussions will focus on: the autopsy/coroners reports; representations of the working poor; slum photography; the idea of the ‘specimen' body; Mayhew and Booth's sociological surveys; Arthur Munby; the factory girl, including Ada Nield Chew; anti-vivisection illustration and narrative; infanticide and child welfare cases.
TEXTS Consult the computer printout in the University Bookstore. A substantial amount of material will available in a class packet.