ENGL 115. Nineteenth-Century American Radicalisms

What can the radical thinking and practice of the past teach us about the political possibilities of today? This course explores the explosion of anti-slavery, Black radical, sex radical, socialist, communist, and anarchist writing in and around the nineteenth-century US. It looks to these past radicalisms not only as forerunners of present ones, but also for models of revolutionary world-making that may appear strange, irrational, or incomprehensible from the point of view of the present. We will read primary texts across a range of genres, as well as a selection of critical texts to help us theorize and historicize this work.
Humanities
2 credits
Fall 2025. Cohen.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

Access the class schedule to search for sections.