|
We are the custodians of
the
world's best kept secret:
Merely the
private lives of one half of humanity.
---from "Pro Femina"
by Carolyn
Kizer
Re-vision--the act of
looking
back, of seeing with fresh
eyes, of
entering an old text from a new critical direction--is
for women more
than
a chapter of cultural history: it is an act of survival.
--from "When We Dead
Awaken:
Writing as Revision" by Adrienne Rich
Literature and language, as we
sometimes forget, do teach
values,
do shape images and perceptions of self, of society, and
of how these
are
related.
---from Myths of Co-Education
by Florence Howe
These quotations help to define the specific goals of
this
course on writing by women:
- to read and survey the traditions of literature by
women, largely
in English and predominantly from Britain and North
America;
- to develop some awareness of the current issues in
feminist
literary criticism;
- to understand the ways that women's lives and values
are
reflected in
their writing;
- to examine some of the diversity in human experiences
and
how individuals
confront differences;
- to articulate in writing, both formal and informal, an
understanding of these issues;
- to explore the relevance of these writings to our own
life
and times.
Course
Prerequisites
Prerequisite course required: ENGL-T125 or
ENGL-A205 or
equivalents.
Requirements (tentative)
--Weekly comments posted on Blackboard.com.
--One formal essay (including preliminary work; 1200-1500
words).
--Group presentation/project.
--Final examination.
TENTATIVE
TEXT
LISTS
Required:
The Norton Anthology of
Literature by Women: The Traditions in English
[Third Edition].
Eds. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: Norton,
2008. ISBN:
978-0-393-18850-9 [includes
bundled
copy of Wide Sargasso Sea]
Woolf,
Virginia. A Room of One's
Own.
1929;
New York: Harvest, 1989. ISBN: 0156787334
Rhys, Jean. Wide
Sargasso Sea. 1966; New York: Norton, 1996. ISBN:
0393308804 [if
purchased separately or not from Loyola Bookstore]
Recommended/Optional:
Instant Access: The Pocket
Reference for Writers. Michael L. Keene and
Katherine H. Adams.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0072819928
Many of these books may also
be available for purchase at Maple
Street Books (support your local bookstores!).
If you're
trying to cut costs, some texts are also available
secondhand
through other commercial booksellers.
Syllabus
Below is a sample of the
weekly readings;
a full schedule will be posted on Blackboard in late
August. Charlotte
Bronte's Jane
Eyre,
which is included in the Norton
Anthology, will be one of
our longer texts, if you want to get a head start on the
readings.
Week 1: Introductions:
Defining
the
issues.
Background reading: Norton
Anthology
of Literature by Women (NALW),
“Literature
of
the
Middle Ages and the Renaissance." Margery
Kempe and Julian of Norwich.
Week 2: NALW,
Anne
Bradstreet; “The Prologue,” “The Author to her Book,” “To
My
Dear Husband,” “Upon the Burning of Our House." Aphra
Behn, Oroonoko.
Background reading: NALW,
“Literature of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries."
*Note
on
Loyola Email and Blackboard:
IF YOU DECIDE TO REGISTER
FOR
THIS COURSE, BE SURE THAT YOUR
E-MAIL ADDRESS
IS ACCURATE IN LORA and on
BLACKBOARD; IF IT ISN'T, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE IMPORTANT
INFORMATION
ABOUT THIS COURSE.
|
