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Crosslistings: WMST 210 |
This course is designed to introduce students to a broad range of texts from the late 14th to the early 17th centuries surrounding what is known to literary history as the "questione della donna" or "querelle des femmes." Its primary aim will be to encourage critical thought about the history of concepts and categories that continue to define the boundaries of feminist inquiry in the present. The term "feminist" will thus serve not as a guiding principle or presupposition, but as an object of criti cal and historical inquiry. We will first situate the medieval framework for the debate by glancing at the long tradition of antifeminist literature and its roots in classical and Biblical narratives and then consider the oppositional strategies of Chauc er's "Wife of Bath" and Christine de Pizan. Next, we will look at the tradition of rhetorical praise and dispraise of women during the Renaissance. Readings will include courtesy manuals, political treatises, canonical as well as noncanonical plays. Th ese texts will be analyzed in light of women's real social, political, and economic role in early modern society.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: ENGL201 Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459