Introduction

Dickens: Hard Times

In this course, Dr Alfie Bown (University of Manchester) explores Dickens’ 1854 novel, Hard Times. As we move through the course, we think about the philosophy of Utilitarianism (thinking in particular about Mr. Gradgrind), about class (thinking in particular about Mr. Bounderby), about regulation and surveillance in Coketown (thinking in particular about Mrs. Sparsit) and, finally, about comedy (thinking in particular about the Circus).

Introduction

In this module, we provide a general background to the novel and the socio-political context of the mid-nineteenth century. In particular, we think about the extent to which Hard Times engages with the same kinds of issues as Marx raises in his Communist Manifesto, published just six years before in 1848.