Emergence of Mass Society in the
West, the Romantic and Realist
Movements
Agenda
1. Bell Ringer: Quick Review of Industrialism and
Unification Movements in Italy and Germany. (10)
2. Quick lecture: Mass Society in the West, Romanticism
and Revolution. (20)
3. Romanticist vs Realist vs Impressionist, analyzing
paintings. (10)
4. Explanation of formatting for CCoT Practice Essay (5)
5. CCoT Essay: Timed Exercise. (50)
• HW: Focus Questions 20 and 21 are due on February
28th.
Quick Review
• Who led the Unification movement in Southern
Italy?
• Which country was the only one to lead a successful
independence movement in the 1820s?
• What caused Revolutions in France in 1830 and
1848?
• What is Realpolitik? Who came up with this theory?
• What is Nationalism?
Mass Society in the West
• Urban Focus
– Initially extremely cramped and unsanitary, life improves in
the 1840s.
– Average life expectancy increases, as sewage is diverted
from the streets to the sewers.
• Social Structure
– European Society, Elite control 40% of wealth, represent
5% of population.
– New Elite emerges, industrialists and merchants.
– Working Class still represents 80% of population
Women’s Rights and Education
• Women’s Rights
– Legally inferior to men, defined by family and household
roles.
– Decreasing birth rates during this period.
– Begin gaining rights in the 1870s in Britain.
– “Suffragist” emerges during this time.
• Education
– Mass education dominates by 1870s, why?
• Industrialization and the Progressive Movement
• Politics, the need to “nationalize” the population.
Ideas of Romanticism
• Moving away from
reason, concentrating
on emotion
• Focus on the mysterious
and supernatural
• Glorified heroes
• Promoted radical
change and democracy
• The past as nostalgia
Romanticism Literature
• Victor Hugo and
Wordsworth known
Romantics.
– Struggles of individuals
against a hostile society.
– Celebrated rebellious
heroes, love, and the
beauty of nature.
• Gothic Novels also part of
the Romantic movement.
– Commonly had violent or
supernatural events
associated with them.
(Mary Shelley)
Realism
• This was an attempt to
show life as it is.
• Shows political importance
of the working class and rise
of industrialization.
• An attempt to describe
workers’ suffering.
– Dickens would show despair
in London.
• Photography develops.
• Daguerreotypes were on
metal plates, but William
Talbot would expand to
using paper.
Impressionists
• Painters in Paris began
to move against this
realist style.
• They wanted to give
“their” impression of a
moment in time.
• Much more positive
than the realists, they
tended to show the
middle class enjoying
leisure-time.
Which type of painting?
Which Type of Painting?
Which Type of Painting?
Objectives
What is Romanticism?
What are characteristics of:
Romanticism
Realism
Impressionism