English 385: Literature by Women
A Woman’s “Place” in Literature
Professor Carrie Johnston
Course Description
In this seminar on women’s writing, we will think about the specific “places” of women’s writing—from the physical places where women choose to write, to the place of women’s writing in the literary canon. Our primary interest will be how women’s places—real and imagined—respond to and inform the changing material conditions and ideological constructs of the 19th century to the present day. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this course examines literature, blogs, domestic manuals, comics, and etiquette books to consider the rhetorical strategies by which women challenge notions such as republican motherhood and the doctrine of separate spheres. While our class discussions will center on women’s places in the American context, the course is organized around British author Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own to help us think both concretely and theoretically about the ways women are represented within public and private spheres. Ultimately, our goal is to analyze women’s dynamic places in social, economic, and cultural contexts and the ways that “place” has been historically constructed or resisted.
Required Texts
- Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
- Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
- Kate Chopin, The Awakening
- Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- Freedman, et al, The Essential Feminist Reader
- Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
- Brian K. Vaughn, et al, Y the Last Man
- Jane Wagner, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Presentations: Participation is expected of every student during every class period. In addition to regular participation, you (along with a small group) will be assigned one class period to lead the discussion by presenting talking points, discussion questions, and potential debates related to the day’s reading. You will also present (individually) a blog of your choice that speaks to the issues of women’s identity and how that identity is constructed through various modes of writing. You will receive detailed guidelines for each presentation.
Schedule of Work
Introductions: Approaches and Backgrounds | |
T 1/13 | Approaches: Close reading, historical
Backgrounds: Women’s Work from Colonialism to 19th Century; Women and the Law |
Unit 1: Women and Fictions | |
R 1/15 | Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Chapter 1
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “Declaration of Sentiments” (EFR pp. 57-62) |
T 1/20 | Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (M)
Sojourner Truth, Two Speeches (EFR pp. 63-66) |
R 1/22 | Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (M) |
T 1/27 | Kate Chopin, The Awakening |
R 1/29 | Kate Chopin, The Awakening
Excerpt from The American Woman’s Home (M) |
T 2/3 | Kate Chopin, The Awakening |
Unit 2: Apocalyptic Feminism | |
R 2/5 | Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Chapters 2&3 |
T 2/10 | Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Pat Mainardi, “The Politics of Housework” (EFR pp. 288-294) |
R 2/12 | Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Sanger, from Women and the New Race (EFR pp. 211-216) |
T 2/17 | Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Excerpt from A Bundle of Letters to Busy Girls on Practical Matters (M) |
R 2/19 | Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale |
T 2/24 | Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale |
R 2/26 | Vaughan, Y the Last Man |
T 3/3 | Midterm exam |
Unit 3: Disability Discourse and Feminist Studies | |
R 3/5 | Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Chapter 4 |
T 3/10 | Spring Break: no class |
R 3/12 | Spring Break: no class |
T 3/17 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony |
R 3/19 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
Winona LaDuke, “The Indigenous Women’s Network” (EFR pp. 405-408) |
T 3/24 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony |
R 3/26 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony
Alva Myrdal, from Nation and Family (EFR pp. 231-236) |
T 3/31 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony |
R 4/2 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony |
T 4/7 | Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony |
Unit 4: Kinship and Desire | |
R 4/9 | Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Chapter 5
Jane Wagner, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe |
T 4/14 | Jane Wagner, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe |
R 4/16 | Jane Wagner, Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe |
R 4/16 | Film Screening: Search for Signs |
T 4/21 | Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Simone de Beauvoir, from The Second Sex (EFR pp. 251-262) |
R 4/23 | Alison Bechdel, Fun Home
Monique Witting, “One Is Not Born a Woman” (EFR pp. 359-366) |
T 4/28 | Alison Bechdel, Fun Home |
T 5/5 | Alison Bechdel, Fun Home |
Conclusions: A Room of Her Own? | |
R 5/7 | Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own, Chapter 6
Bumgardner and Richards, from Manifesta (EFR pp. 424-426) |