The greatest English novel of the 19th century, Middlemarch, will be the study of our 10-week seminar. Slowly, as we make our way through this encyclopedic narrative of 19th-century social realism, we will set our minds in relation to George Eliot’s mind in order to consider how Middlemarch creates the novel of “social realism” and imagines the nature of consciousness into being. The human mind’s capacity to feel empathy—Eliot’s fundamental topic—will be the focus of our study. While not required, I recommend that you read Daniel Deronda in tandem, the great finale of Eliot’s novel-writing career. This is a course for lovers of the 19th-century novel and the study of mind.