ENGL 585 (01) - Introduction to Women in Literature

Fall 2024 Special Topic: Women Writers on the Edge

The goal of English 585 is to examine women's roles in literary traditions, including women as authors and women as characters. We interrogate categories of sex, gender, and sexuality as they intersect with other categories of identity including race, class, and nation. In this version of English 585, we’ll read fiction and one graphic autobiography by 19^th, 20^th, and 21st-century women writers who imagine characters at the margins of their social worlds. 19^th-century novels will include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Julia Ward Howe’s The Hermaphrodite, and Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig. 20th-century novels will range from Nella Larsen’s Passing to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale to Octavia Butler’s Kindred. The graphic narrative will be Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. We’ll also read some short stories, poems, and short nonfiction by contemporaries of these authors. English 585 is writing intensive. In Fall 2024 this course may count towards a Women’s and Gender Studies major or minor.

This course satsifes a Post-1800 Literature requirement for English Literature, English: TBD, English/Journalism, English/Law 3+3 Majors.

This course satisfies the "One English Department course in Writing, Linguistics, Critical Theory, Film or Literature" requirenent for English Teaching majors.