Reading and analysis of works in British and American literature by and about women.
Athena Title
Women in Literature
Prerequisite
ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1103 or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the conclusion of the course, students will be familiar with representative texts written by and about British and/or American women writers.
Students will contextualize and analyze examples from multiple literary genres including traditional genres like prose fiction, poetry, essays, and/or drama and non-traditional genres like travel journals, diaries, screenplays, and/or graphic novels. They will practice analyzing literary form and thinking critically about literature and culture.
Students will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in both small groups and full-class discussion. They will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
Students will improve their abilities to argue persuasively, use textual evidence, and write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage.
Topical Outline
This course is taught by a number of instructors with a wide range of specialties within the field of British and American literature. Thus, texts to be studied and organizing principles of the course will vary from semester to semester. In general, students can expect that attention will be paid to the following broad topics:
women's history
feminist literary theory
continuities and discontinuities of theme in literature by women
aesthetics of women's literature
the representation of women in literature
the representation of masculinity or "manliness" in literature
the study of gender and sexuality
women's textual production and knowledge-work, understood with regard to both history and genre
