This course will explore texts which engage with such matters as the shifting constructions of the family, changing sexual practices, ideals of femininity and masculinity, and the significance of the separation of spheres in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writing. Focal points may include: the role of desire in narrative; literary representations of gender and economics, of gender and medicine, and of pivotal figures such as the prostitute, the governess, the rake, or the gentleman. Reading-intensive course. (Offered in odd-numbered years.)