'What is Life But Learning!': Informal Education in A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, and Great Expectations

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dc.contributor.authorMerz, Anna Caitlinen
dc.contributor.committeechairMetz, Nancy Aycocken
dc.contributor.committeememberZare, Bonnieen
dc.contributor.committeememberGraham, Peter W.en
dc.contributor.departmentEnglishen
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-30T07:00:16Zen
dc.date.available2021-12-30T07:00:16Zen
dc.date.issued2020-07-07en
dc.description.abstractThe following study is interested in informal education in three of Charles Dickens's novels: A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1852), and Great Expectations (1860). While substantial scholarly attention has been paid to Dickens's interest in formal education, for example his educational reform efforts, his fictional depictions of schools and schooling, and his "student" and "teacher" characters, my project considers the fictional moments in which Dickens depicts education happening outside traditional "school" settings. I argue against claims that Dickens was exclusively interested in critiquing pedagogical practices; rather, Dickens offers informal solutions to Victorian attempts at establishing a state-run educational system. My project begins with a chapter providing historical context on formal Victorian educational practices; practices which inform Dickens's descriptions of both formal and informal learning/teaching experiences. In my analysis of A Christmas Carol, I analyze the Christmas Spirits's teaching strategies and find that the ghosts offer a more humane pedagogical approach than common Victorian teaching methods like Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster's Monitorial System. My chapter on Bleak House considers the ways in which gendered teaching and learning complicate a Dickensian perspective on what can be defined as best-practice pedagogy. In Great Expectations, I explore how the generic form of the Bildungsroman, or the novel of education, contributes to Dickens's evaluation of learning and social mobility. My project concludes by demonstrating how Dickens explodes and expands definitions of "teacher," "pupil," and "learning" in A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, and Great Expectations, even for twenty-first century audiences.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralIn his novels Hard Times, Dombey and Son, and Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens famously criticizes common Victorian educational practices by depicting unfair and cruel treatment in school and classroom settings. However, Dickens's portrayals of excellent educational settings is often overlooked. My thesis argues that examples of Dickens's successful teachers occur most frequently in his portrayals of informal education. In A Christmas Carol (1843), Bleak House (1852), and Great Expectations (1860), ghosts, friends, mothers, dancing-masters, and dubious neighbors become the best teachers to needy students. My project begins with a chapter providing historical context on formal Victorian educational practices; practices which inform Dickens's descriptions of both formal and informal learning/teaching experiences. In my analysis of A Christmas Carol, I analyze the Christmas Spirits's teaching strategies and find that the ghosts offer a more humane pedagogical approach than common Victorian teaching methods like Andrew Bell and Joseph Lancaster's Monitorial System. My chapter on Bleak House considers the ways in which gendered teaching and learning complicate a Dickensian perspective on what can be defined as best-practice pedagogy. In Great Expectations, I explore how the generic form of the Bildungsroman, or the novel of education, contributes to Dickens's evaluation of learning and social mobility. My project concludes by demonstrating how Dickens explodes and expands definitions of "teacher," "pupil," and "learning" in A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, and Great Expectations, even for twenty-first century audiences.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:26235en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/107286en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectCharles Dickensen
dc.subjectA Christmas Carolen
dc.subjectBleak Houseen
dc.subjectGreat Expectationsen
dc.subjectteachingen
dc.subjectlearningen
dc.subjectinformal educationen
dc.subjectVictorian literatureen
dc.subjectpedagogyen
dc.subjectgendered educationen
dc.subjectBildungsromanen
dc.title'What is Life But Learning!': Informal Education in A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, and Great Expectationsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineEnglishen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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