Select one nineteenth-century British or Canadian object, building or literary work that
evokes neo-medievalism and discuss the cultural processes that influenced its creation,
reception, use and appearance (if applicable). This assignment is informed by exhibition
catalogues which, ideally, unite description and contextualization. Your object’s description
should comprise approximately one-quarter of the assignment’s word length. The
remainder of the word length should be devoted to the more substantive issues of cultural
context, lasting influence, etc. Your assignment must include the following:
1) Describe the “object” using clear, precise terminology. Your description should
include (if applicable) dimensions, material, method of manufacture and
decoration. Augment this description with a good-quality, referenced, image of
your subject. If you are discussing a literary work, identify its genre, its
publication details and its printed format.
(For example, was it published as a monograph? Was it a “triple-decker”? Was it
serialized? Was its cover and/or binding decorated? Were images included in the
text? If you discuss decoration or illustrations vis à vis a literary work, you must
include a good-quality, referenced, image of that visual content.)
2) How does your subject reflect its cultural context? For example, does it preserve
evidence of evolution in philosophical thought? Does it celebrate an
idealized/fictionalized past? Does it connote a cultural identity? Consider your
subject carefully and determine how it can be “read” as a cultural artifact.
3) Why is your “object” important today? Does it have a lasting influence on
contemporary societies that form the British diaspora? What are the implications
of such “lasting influence” in that diaspora?
