The theme of our project is cultural trends and their personification of the past, as a means of commenting on the present.

An online magazine-style blog, our project attempted to answer, through the exploration of modern day literature and art, these two questions:

Does Victorian Cool offer any sort of critique on the present, in regards to its aesthetics, principles, and technologies?

and

Does the nostalgia embodied in Victorian Cool suggest an optimistic view or a pessimistic view of the future of mankind?

At the end of our investigation, we decided that the prevalency of Victorian culture in the 21st century suggests that Victorian Cool is a means of teaching, through example, the folly of innovation without consideration. The Victorians were obsessed with science and materialism. Their lack of concern for the future of the planet has resulted in our current problem of Global Warming. They looked to the future, in regards to scientific discovery and material goods, but failed to acknowledge the consequences of such endeavors. In addition, we concluded that nostalgia, in Victorian Cool, offers an optimistic view of the future because, by reflecting on and learning from the past, we are able to improve on our present-day situation and prevent the re-occurrence of past mistakes.


We hope that you have fun looking at our blog, while learning something new about the 19th century.

Enjoy! :-D