Hello from Eastern Washington University!
Students in our “Major Authors” literature class during Winter Quarter 2020 read works by Charlotte Brontë and Harriet Martineau, and we discussed how these two Victorian women writers contributed to the discussions of their day and what each writer continues to offer current readers. We read Martineau’s novel Deerbrook, two of Brontë’s novels, Jane Eyre and Villette, and four of Martineau’s tales from Illustrations of Political Economy—specifically “Weal and Woe,” “A Manchester Strike,” “Cousin Marshall,” and “Demerara.” We also read selections from Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Life of Charlotte Brontë and Martineau’s Autobiography. Students wrote informal reading journals and two five-page research papers. Several students went beyond the class requirements and made their respective papers on Martineau into digital web-texts.
We would like to share some of the student work related to Martineau, here, with you, via the Martineau Society website. These blogs will allow you to see how current American undergraduate students are engaging with Martineau’s work.
Enjoy! Thank you for your reading and your support of these students’ work on Martineau.
Beth Torgerson, Professor of English, Eastern Washington University
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Brooke Bailey:
https://bbailey240806631.wordpress.com/2020/01/28/tales-of-political-economy-by-harriet-martineau/
Justine Hunt:
Alex Richburg:
https://alexwebtext.blogspot.com/2020/01/reading-journal-2-eng-436.html
Justine Hunt:
https://huntj1998.wixsite.com/website/post/journal-of-deerbrook-by-harriet-martineau
Alex Richburg:
https://alexwebtext.blogspot.com/2020/02/reading-journal-3-eng-436ha.html
Haley Adair on Female Friendship in Deerbrook:
https://undergradlitwriting.blogspot.com/
Alex Richburg on Martineau’s Narrative Strategy of Opposing Characters in “A Manchester Strike”
Characters in Opposition as Teaching Tools in Martineau’s “A Manchester Strike” (ENG 436)
Breanna Bolves on Charlotte Bronte and Harriet Martineau