Date of Award
2016
First Advisor
Daniel Neilson
Second Advisor
Bernard Rodgers
Third Advisor
Jan Hutchinson
Abstract
In order to observe a society and its evolution, it is necessary to understand the most fundamental aspects of the society as if it is one's own. Novels, compared to numbers, are much closer to these fundamentals. This thesis analyzes the economic effects of 19th century English Industrial Revolution through literature in the first three chapters: daily life, social mobility and urbanization. This thesis also evaluates how much the English experience is really a global experience. Post-1970s China serves as a contrasting example in the fourth chapter, which briefly discusses how China may learn from the global experience and improve the Chinese industrialization process in its final period. Literary works used in this thesis include Charles Dickens' Hard Times, Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South, Peter Hessler's River Town, Country Driving and the Chinese author Yu Hua's To Live.
Recommended Citation
Li, Cindy Zhaoran, "Understanding Industrialization through Literature: An Economic Analysis of 19th Century England and Post-1970s China" (2016). Senior Theses. 1023.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/sr-theses/1023
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