Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture: Synergies of Thought and Place - Paperback

by Kevin A. Morrison (Author)

An interdisciplinary study of British liberalism in the nineteenth century
Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture assesses the unexplored links between Victorian material culture and political theory. It seeks to transform understanding of Victorian liberalism's key conceptual metaphor - that the mind of an individuated subject is private space. Focusing on the environments inhabited by four Victorian writers and intellectuals, it delineates how John Stuart Mill's, Matthew Arnold's, John Morley's, and Robert Browning's commitments to liberalism were shaped by or manifested through the physical spaces in which they worked. The book also asserts the centrality of the embodied experience of actual people to Victorian political thought. Readers will gain new historical and literary understanding and will be introduced to an innovative methodology that links material culture and political theory.

Key features

Addresses interaction between British liberal thinkers and their workplaces as an essential component in your consideration of nineteenth-century liberalismEnhances understanding of Victorian literature and culture and the history of architecture and design through an interdisciplinary approachBridges differences of perspective between students of material culture and political theoryBased on extensive research in British and American archives, utilizing recently unsealed record

Front Jacket

'Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture is a masterful rapprochement between methodologies that hardly ever converge. Morrison gives us liberal political philosophy from the inside out, using archival research to peer into the domestic interiors and built environments that framed the influential thought of J.S. Mill, Matthew Arnold, John Morley, and Robert Browning. A crucial study for political theorists and material culture scholars alike.' Lauren M. E. Goodlad, Rutgers University An interdisciplinary study of British liberalism in the nineteenth century Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture assesses the unexplored links between Victorian material culture and political theory. It seeks to transform the understanding of Victorian liberalism's key conceptual metaphor: that the mind of an individuated subject is private space. Focusing on the environments inhabited by four Victorian writers and intellectuals, it delineates how the commitment of John Stuart Mill, Matthew Arnold, John Morley and Robert Browning to liberalism was shaped by or manifested through the physical spaces in which they worked. The book also asserts the centrality of the embodied experience of actual people to Victorian political thought. Readers will gain new historical and literary understanding and will be introduced to an innovative methodology that links material culture and political theory. Kevin A. Morrison is an assistant professor in the Department of English at Syracuse University. He is the editor of Companion to Victorian Popular Fiction (forthcoming in 2018) and Victorian Poverty and Philanthropy: Reading London's East End (2016). Cover image: Guardian Angel, Guercino, 1641 (c) akg-images / De Agostini Picture Lib. / A. Dagli Orti Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-3153-8 Barcode

Author Biography

Kevin A. Morrison is Provincial Chair Professor, University Distinguished Professor, and Professor of British Literature in the School of Foreign Languages at Henan University. He is the author of the Modern Language Association award-winning Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture (2018), as well as A Micro-History of Victorian Liberal Parenting (2018) and Study-Abroad Pedagogy, Dark Tourism, and Historical Reenactment (2019).