24 research outputs found
Gothic visions of classical architecture in Hablot Knight Browneâs âdarkâ illustrations for the novels of Charles Dickens
In the early gothic literature of the eighteenth century danger lurked in the darkness beneath the pointed arches of gothic buildings. During the nineteenth century there was a progressive, although never complete, dislocation of gothic literary readings from gothic architecture. This article explores a phase in that development through discussion of a series of âdarkâ illustrations produced by Hablot Knight Browne to illustrate novels by Charles Dickens. These show the way in which the rounded arches of neo-classical architecture were depicted in the mid-nineteenth century as locales of oppression and obscurity. Such depictions acted, in an age of political and moral reform, to critique the values of the system of power and authority that such architecture represented
Through Oceans Darkly: Sea Literature and the Nautical Gothic
No abstract available
Reading âFundamental British Valuesâ Through Childrenâs Gothic: Imperialism, History, Pedagogy
This paper reads the U.K. Governmentâs âfundamental British valuesâ project alongside two childrenâs Gothic novels, Coram Boy (2000) by Jamila Gavin and City of Ghosts (2009) by Bali Rai. In 2011 the U.K. Government outlined what it described as âfundamental British valuesâ (FBV), making it a requirement for U.K. schools to promote these values. Many critics have shown that the root of FBV lies in Islamophobia and imperialist nostalgia and suggested that the promotion of âBritishâ values in school will exclude minority groups already under siege from racist elements in contemporary Britain. Other critics argue that the promotion of FBV reduces opportunities to explore issues of belonging, belief, and nationhood in the classroom. This article argues that the Gothic fictions of Jamila Gavin and Bali Rai offer a space in which to critically examine British history (and so, its values) in a way that is acutely relevant to these education contexts. Coram Boy and City of Ghosts use the Gothic to interrogate aspects of British history elided by the FBV project. That is, they point to Britainâs imperial and colonial history and offer a rejoinder to the Governmentâs insistence that âBritish Valuesâ equate to democracy, respect for the rule of law and mutual respect and tolerance of those from different faiths and religions. Furthermore, Gavinâs and Raiâs use of the Gothic creates a space in which the ambiguities and contradictions inherent in FBV can be explored. However, their âgothicizedâ histories of Britain do not render the idea of shared values invalid. The diversity and interconnectedness of the characters offer an alternative version of identity to the patronising and arrogant FBV project, which is aimed at promoting a national identity based on sameness and assimilation. Rai and Gavin look to Britainâs past through the lens of the Gothic not only to refute nationalism and racism, but also to offer a productive alternative that gestures towards a more cosmopolitan vision of identity
Development and refinement of proxy-climate indicators from peats
Peat, especially from acidic mires (bogs), is a natural archive of past environmental change. Reconstructions of past climate from bogs commenced in the 19th Century through examination of visible peat stratigraphy, and later formed the basis for a postglacial climatic scheme widely used in Northwest Europe. Nevertheless, misconceptions as to how bogs grow led to a 50-year lacuna in peat-climate study, before the concept of "cyclic regeneration" in bogs was refuted. In recent decades, research using proxyclimate indicators from bogs has burgeoned. A range of proxies for past hydrological change has been developed, as well as use of pollen, bog oaks and pines and other data to reconstruct past temperatures. Most of this proxy-climate research has been carried out in Northern Europe, but peat-based research in parts of Asia and North America has increased, particularly during the last decade, while research has also been conducted in Australia, New Zealand and South America. This paper reviews developments in proxy-climate reconstructions from peatlands; chronicles use of a range of palaeo-proxies such as visible peat stratigraphy, plant macrofossils, peat humification, testate amoebae and non-pollen palynomorphs; and explains the use of wiggle-match radiocarbon dating and relationship to climate shifts. It details other techniques being used increasingly, such as biomarkers, stable-isotopes, inorganic geochemistry and estimation of dust flux; and points to new proxies under development. Although explicit protocols have been developed recently for research on ombrotrophic mires, it must be recognised that not all proxies and techniques have universal applicability, owing to differences in species assemblages, mire formation, topographic controls, and geochemical characteristics
Rambles Beyond Railways: Globalised Space and Gothicised Place in Victorian Cornwall
types: Article© 2011 by Manchester University PressThis paper examines an account of Cornwall published by Wilkie Collins in 1851, focusing specifically upon Collinsâs claim that the region lay âbeyondâ the railway. In so doing it explores the way in which mid-nineteenth-century Gothic discourse can be understood to inform a scalar opposition between localised place - conceived of as static, isolated, anachronistic and particular - and globalised space - conceived of as kinetic, networked, modern and homogenous