Using Titanic to Teach Late Victorianism

Creative Projects for History and Language Arts Teachers

Mar 30, 2010 Michael Streich

New York Herald on the Titanic Loss - Public Domain Image

The sinking of the Titanic is often portrayed as an illustration of class consciousness during the late Victorian period. Creative projects can detail these conflicts.

In the 1979 television movie S.O.S. Titanic, second class passenger Lawrence Beesley (an actual 1912 passenger) comments that the ship was a microcosm of the British social class. The subject of several movies as well as countless articles and books, the story of RMS Titanic can be used in History and Language Arts classes to develop interesting and creative projects that illustrate late Victorianism.

A Night to Remember

In the early 1960’s, Walter Lord’s book A Night to Remember [NY: Henry Holt and Company, 1955] was part of the reading curriculum of many high schools during the freshman year and was even condensed in some English texts. Long since replaced by other, more contemporary titles, Lord’s account is still riveting and highly readable.

A traditional project assignment has students reading Lord’s book and comparing his writings to the accuracy of any number of Hollywood films. The 1958 film based on Lord’s book featuring Kenneth Moore as Second Officer Lightoller is faithful to the facts – with minor exception to accuracy, but subsequent films are not.

Non-Conventional Projects

Titanic research allows for a wide spectrum of social history discoveries. The Vermont Country Store, for examples, sells Vinolia soap with an advertisement that the “luxurious” soap “sailed first class on the Titanic.” In the film A Night to Remember, one of the first scenes has a railroad passenger commenting on Titanic amenities in First Class and points to a Vinolia advertisement. Projects geared toward the living conditions in First Class suites can be fun and educational.

In 1997 I Salonisti produced a CD titled And the Band Played On: Music Played on the Titanic. Projects linking popular music of the time with Titanic bridge history with the Arts. RMS Titanic: “Dinner is Served” by Yvonne Hume [Stenlake Publishing, 2010 – expected availability date April 14] is a cornucopia of menus gathered by the great niece of the ship’s first violinist. Last Dinner on the Titanic by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley [Hyperion, 1997] also lists menus and comments extensively on ship-board meals. Students love to bring food into classrooms; here is an opportunity to use food as an enhancement of a lesson plan.

Other Areas of Focus

After the loss of RMS Titanic, inquiries were held in London and by the U.S. Congress. Some topics of interest that relate to other disciplines might include:

• Addressing the lack of life boats and adequate safety in emergencies (Spectator, April 20, 1912, “The Lessons of the Titanic” was one of the first media outlets to address this)
• Plight of surviving White Star Line survivors: the Whit Star Line stopped all employee salaries at the moment the ship sank
• Future life boat policies
• 24-Hour Marconi operations
• Better iceberg detection and communication of threats
• 
  

Avant Garde but Creative Projects

Clive Cussler’s 1976 novel Raise the Titanic [Viking Press, 1976] was a bestseller later turned into the disappointing 1980 film of the same name. Both efforts did not benefit from the later discovery of the ship on the bottom of the Atlantic. Irwin Allen’s 1966 TV series “The Time Tunnel” begins with the Titanic sinking as two mid 20th Century scientists are transported back in time and attempt to warn the captain, played by Michael Rennie.

Students with an interest in fringe topics can “get in on the action” by developing project topics that focus on time travel (like the “Time Bandits” in the 1981 film that also found themselves on RMS Titanic) or other related themes.

Illustrating Victorianism through Titanic Projects

Projects incorporating music, food, period dress, and replica artifacts all contribute to linking the disaster with a better understanding of Victorianism. One successful teacher simulated the U.S. Congressional Inquiry, assigning students roles as witnesses that included members of the crew, stewardesses like Violet Jessup (see Titanic Survivor: Memoirs of Violet Jessup, Sheridan House, 1997), and passengers (see Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth, by Kristen Iversen, Johnson Books, 1999).

Using the Titanic as a visual backdrop, especially in April, the anniversary of the sinking, will enhance a broad, inter-disciplinary study of late Victorianism while linking key themes to transitional changes moving societies into the twentieth century.

Copyright Michael Streich. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.