ENGL265 - Domesticity and Gender in Mid-19th-Century American Literature and Culture

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Academic Year 2001/2002

Domesticity and Gender in Mid-19th-Century American Literature and Culture
ENGL 265 FA

Crosslistings:
WMST 257
AMST 273

The course will explore literary and cultural questions about the representation of domesticity and gender in works by Hawthorne, Poe, Melville, Sarah Grimke, Catherine Sedgwick, Margaret Fuller, Fanny Fern, Louisa May Alcott, Kate Chopin, and Susan Glaspell. We will also read selections from women's rights periodicals, Fourierist critiques of the family, ladies fashion magazines, phrenological advice books and contemporary medical texts. Secondary readings include historical research on mid-19th-century family life, sexuality and sex roles. Our study of historical context will include a field trip to Sturbridge Village. The course will conclude with some texts written in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

MAJOR READINGS

N. Hawthorne, selected tales, letters, journal entries: E.A. Poe, "Berenice," "The Black Cat," "The Oval Portrait." "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Ligeia" H. Melville, "The Bell Tower," "The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids" A. DeTocqueville, "That the Principle of Equality Naturally Divides the Americans Into a Number of Small Private Circles," "The Young Woman in the Character of a Wife" M. Fuller, letters, reviews, stories Sarah Grimke, LETTERS ON THE EQUALITY OF THE SEXES AND THE CONDITION OF WOMEN Harriet Jacobs, INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL Fanny Fern, short essays and reviews, L.M. Alcott, LITTLE WOMEN: OR MEG, JO, BETH, AND AMY Mary P. Ryan, "Femininity and Capitalism in Antebellum America" Barbara Welter, "Female Complaints: Medical Views of Women (1790-1865)" Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, "Sex as Symbol in Victorian Purity; An Ethnohistorical Analysis of Jacksonian America" Nancy Cott, THE BONDS OF WOMANHOOD: "WOMAN'S SPHERE" IN NEW ENGLAND, 1780-1835 Kate Chopin, THE AWAKENING Susan Glaspell, THE VERGE

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Two papers (5-7 pages, 10-15 pages)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Each student will take a turn or two at initiating class discussion.

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.

The instructor of this course will not be using the on-line wait list. If you are interested in this course, please contact the instructor directly.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA ENGL Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Pfister,Joel

Times: ..T.... 07:00PM-09:50PM; Location: CRT271

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 18)

SR. major: 9 Jr. major: 9

SR. non-major: Jr. non-major: SO: FR:

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Ethical Reasoning, Speaking

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2002