We shall study the literary and cultural self-presentations of a decade obsessed by its own momentousness as the end of a century, and even, perhaps, the end of Time. We shall examine writers' new pride in decadence, the primacy of termination and death, and the impact of the woman's movement on fiction, art, poetry and theater of the 1890s. In this decade possessed by endings, we shall look for sometimes sinister new beginnings.

Since women seemed to have been too engrossed in experiencing the decade to write thoughtfully about it, our syllabus will feature gloomy men. Works we shall read include, Bram Stoker, Dracula; Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure; Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Time Machine; Gissing, The Odd Women and New Grub Street; Kipling, The Light that Failed; James, The Turn of the Screw, and assorted less-known tales of mystery and terror, and suffrage.

Each student will be expected to present at least one oral report (20 minutes long) and lead the subsequent class discussion; a 20-odd page paper on some aspect of the 1890s is due at the end of the semester.