Who is the Eighteenth-Century Woman? And can we find her in the lives of those women who have entered the public record?

Assignment: Engage in a biographical research project. Depending upon which prominent woman you are assigned, you might find yourself researching a writer, a scientist, a political figure, an artist, a poet, etc

Materials due August 28th and can be in DRAFT form (Rev. 8/21;  Further revised with more information 9/3)

More material, if requested, is due 9/11

  • No more than 3-5 pages of your findings, with a bibliography indicating where you found your information.
    • For this assignment, I’d like you to start with the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. (See link below)
    • You must also use at least 1 other online source and 1 other actual book from the Main Library. 
    • A very strong project will have around 5 varied sources: 1 (and no more than 2) biographical entries from online; 1-2 secondary (critical sources); if you have an author, at least 1 primary source
      • Accompany the bibliographic reference of a library book with a photo of the shelf where you found it.
      • You should also look for portraits, art works, etc. If she was a painter, what did she paint? Are any of her works extant? If she was a writer, what were her most famous works? (You should also skim or read the work that most catches your eye). If she was prominent political figure, are there portraits or accounts of her in the historical record?
        • Don’t forget that the presentation is multi-media; you must have images; if there is a portrait of your figure, display it! If an artist, share her work. If there are no portraits or material artifacts, then find other powerful images that represent pertinent aspects of eighteenth-century culture.
      • At least one section of this draft must be dedicated to biographical information
      • At least one section should be dedicated to a close description and analysis of 1 or 2 works of art or action. (i.e. a poem; a political campaign; a statue or painting)
        • In other words, what is this? why is it important? what makes it of analytical and interpretive interest?
        • You need to clearly identify what you will be specifically looking at. If an excerpt, please share details about that excerpt with me: source, date, and either lines (if a poem) or page numbers (if a text). I may ask you to send me a pdf of the work or otherwise make it available to me so that I can assign it to the class.
      • Does your figure have a presence in popular culture? Is she represented in film or contemporary literature?
    • Submit your material electronically (i.e. Google Docs or by email). Must be in Times Roman, 12 font but can be in the form of paragraphs, detailed notes or outline. I must be able to interpret it, however.
  • Some of these women worked into the nineteenth century; for the purposes of this presentation please focus on their presence in eighteenth-century culture.
  • It is possible that some of the writers listed below may end up on our syllabus at some point but they are not currently on the schedule.
  • All in-class presentations will be scheduled (by me) no later than August 29th.

In-Class Presentation (rolling through the semester): Once I collect all of the research project write-ups, you’ll be assigned a day to present:

  • a 5 minute “flash” presentation your findings to the class.
  • You should do so in a way that brings multi-media affordances into class. You’ll have access to the classroom computer and projector.
  • You may not go beyond 5 minutes in your classroom presentation but I encourage you to bring insights about your historical figure into classroom discussions throughout the semester. It is possible that we will be discussing material by your chosen author on the day that you present; it that case, you’ll probably have a quite a bit to say and your contributions are welcome.

REVISED Requirement: For the final step of this project, you’ll turn in a revised version of your first draft and your notes for the presentation itself. The presentation should be in a digital form.

DUE on the day of the presentation

Where to begin:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Galileo Database, UGA Libraries). You’ll need to log-in if you are off campus.

Homepage of the UGA Libraries

Direct link to “Literature” databases on Galileo

Look at anthologies of women’s writing: you can find them in the library in sections: PR 111, PR 76, PR 129, etc. Find them by putting in search strings like “Eighteenth-Century British Women Writers” or “Anthologies of Women Writers” etc. etc. Some of our writers also published in the nineteenth century, so if your figure is born at the end of the century, you should search for “Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers” or “Romantic Women Writers” (or painters, or poets, or as the case may be).

Enter your figure’s name into the Google Books search engine; look for material in historic and archival documents, periodicals, older books.

https://books.google.com (Don’t forget that you can limit the search to 18th-century materials <Put the name of your figure in the Google Books search bar; when materials come up, click on <Settings> and then <Advanced Book Search>; go to publication date and enter date range, which should cover the time period that the figure/author/painter, etc. was active until about 25 years (or so) after her death). Not all results will be useful, but some will be.

You can also search for mention of your figure in more recent critical works, as well.

Here is a search that I did for Jane Collier, for example (with dates as 1/1970-1/2019

Internet Archive [a search for Elizabeth Montagu]

A host of English Museums: The National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery, The British Library, and The British Museum (probably Jane Collier at NPG); 29 portraits of Duchess of Devonshire; Elizabeth Montagu

The Dread Wikipedia: I confess that sometimes this is a helpful site BUT it should never be the only place to look. It can be a very useful place to start but you want to make sure that the information is accurate. The other contemporary sources I’ve given you are academically accredited and therefore most appropriate for this assignment. If you do look at it, it belongs on the bibliography.

When grading this, I’ll be looking for enthusiastic archival energy, so while I’ve not “required” too many sources, you’ll surely want to go beyond 3 or 4, although you don’t want to get too carried away (say no more than 10). If you do get carried away, please put all of your findings in that bibliography.

Some of these figures will have less of a presence in the archive but be sure that you’re right about that. Dig deep to try to find them in the historical record.

  1.  Mary Collier (1688?-c. 1762) [Rachel Ritchie], September 25th / Revised Date October 14th
  2. Eliza Haywood (1693?-1756) [Erin Schilling], September 11th
  3. Elizabeth Montagu (1718-1800) [Marco Lopez], October 16th / New Date October 21st
  1. Frances Sheridan (1724-1766) [Max Rabb], September 11th
  1. Clara Reeve (1729-1807) [Katie Pope], September 25th
  1. Catharine Macaulay (1731-1791) [Eliza Sarazua], October 21st / New Date October 28th
  1. Angelica Kauffman (1741-1807) [Emma Welborn], September 18th
  2. Anna Letitia Barbauld (1743-1825) [Avery Simpson], September 30th
  3. Hannah More (1745-1833) [Zach Green], September 30th
  4. Elizabeth Hands (bap. 1746, d. 1815) [Theresa Connolly],
    October 16th / New Date October 21st
  5. Anne Damer (1749-1828) [Hannah Chalker], October 30th
  6. Ann Yearsley (bap. 1753, d. 1806), Haley Jacobsen, October 16th / New Date October 21st
  7. Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) [Alex Cross], October 9th
  8. Mary Linwood (1755-1845) [Allison Williams], October 9th
  9. Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806)
    [Jacob Kisic], September 18th
  10. Mary Robinson (1756/?1758-1800), Bekah Martin, October 23rd
  11. Helen Maria Williams (1759-1827) [Lily Harrington],
    November 6th
  12. Anne Plumptre (1760-1818) [Rachel Allen], November 6th
  13. Maria Cosway (1760-1838) [Hillory Bingham], September 18th
  14. Susanna Rowson (bap. 1762, d. 1824) [Mackenzie Wells], October 21st / New Date October 28th
  15. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1761?-1804) [Ayesha Jerald], September 23rd
  16. Eliza Fenwick (1766?-1840) [Jordyn Pedersen], November 13th / New Date November 18th
  17. Anne Batten Cristall (bap. 1769, d. 1848) [Carol Wise],
    October 23rd
  18. Amelia Opie (1769-1853) [Olivia Sprott], October 23rd