Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Syllabus
Virginia Woolf once said that in the late eighteenth century, something happened that was
as important to her as the Crusades or the Wars of the Roses: middle-class women began to write.
But why had they not written until then? Why was it novels that they wrote? And why does it
matter?
In answering those questions, this course will explore the relationships between gender and
genre from both authors’ and readers’ perspectives. We will see how women have used novels of
marriage and domestic life to express anger, to work for change, or to celebrate their lives. We will
consider how this tradition fits into the canon of English and American literature, and why it has
often been excluded. In sum, we will learn to appreciate the challenges faced by 19th - and 20th-
century women writers and the artistry of their fictions.
In addition, my goal in this and every course I teach is to help students become more
attentive, more sophisticated, and wiser readers and writers. Students will be held to a high level of
scholarship, and we will read model essays by professional scholars. Questions on our agenda will
include: What are the fundamental concepts and methods in Literary Studies? What can literature
tell us about the past? What evidence is needed to make arguments about literature and culture?
How are sophisticated arguments structured?
Requirements:
Come to class having read the material carefully. Attendance will be taken, and you will
be expected to participate in class discussion. You will also have 2 kinds of
homework: Once a week, you will hand in a one-page reaction to that day’s primary
reading (10 total over the semester). To prepare the critical readings, you will have
a sheet of questions to answer (5 to be handed in over the semester). Students may
choose which days they do homeworks, but all homeworks must be handed in at the
beginning of the relevant class or emailed to me the evening before, by 5 pm. Class
participation plus homeworks count for 40 % of final grade.
You will write one major research paper (10-12 pages) on a topic you select, subject to my
approval. You will first write a paper proposal, then a draft, then a revision.
Detailed guidelines will be handed out ahead of time. 40% of final grade.
There will be a take-home midterm exam and an in-class final exam. Together 20% of
final grade.
Texts:
For the work of close reading, it is essential to bring a copy of the day’s assignment to class.
The novels are available at the bookstore.
The short stories and critical essays will be on electronic reserve. You must print them out.
Schedule:
Th 8/18 Introduction