Course Description
Examination of the meaning of feminism within the Caribbean context. The ways in which race, gender, class, ethnicity, language, sexuality, and other factors affect the formation of Caribbean women's identities in the modern world.
Athena Title
WOMEN IN CARIBBEAN
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in WMST(LACS) 3500
Non-Traditional Format
This version of the course will be taught as writing intensive, which means that the course will include substantial and ongoing writing assignments that a) relate clearly to course learning; b) teach the communication values of a discipline- for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format; and c) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, in graduate school, and in professional life. The written assignments will result in a significant and diverse body of written work (the equivalent of 6000 words or 25 pages) and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in student writing, providing opportunities for feedback and substantive revision.
Prerequisite
WMST 1110 or WMST 2010 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will learn about a variety of issues affecting the lives of women in different parts of the Caribbean region. They will understand how the meaning of feminism changes within particular socio-political contexts, and more specifically, within the Caribbean context. Finally, they will understand how race, gender, class, ethnicity, language, sexuality and other factors intersect in the formation of Caribbean women's identities in the modern world.
Topical Outline
Part I. Feminism and the Formation of Feminine Identities Theoretical Text: Chapters from Conseulo Lopez Springfield's "Daughters of Caliban: Caribbean Women in the Twentieth Century: Primary Texts: Merle Hodge's "Crick Crack Monkey," Jamaica Kincaid's "Annie John," and Michelle Cliff's "Abeng" Part II: Colonial Legacies and Postcolonial Identities Theoretical Text: Chapters form Springfield's "Daughters of Caliban: Caribbean Women in the Twentieth Century." Primary Texts: Edwidge Danticat's "The Farming of Bones" and Jean Rhys' "Wide Sargasso Sea" Part III: Language, Culture, and Feminine Identities Theoretical Text: Chapters from Springfield's "Daughters of Caliban: Caribbean Women in the Twentieth Century." Primary Texts: Maryse Conde's "Crossing the Mangrove," Christina Garcia's "Dreaming in Cuban," and Rosario Ferre's "The Youngest Doll." As a writing intensive course, the first half of the course will require several response papers and the second half of the course will be devoted to writing a final paper that is at least 10 pages in length.