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

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Academic Year 2005/2006

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 may 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 EQUALIT Y 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 Anteb ellum 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: "WOMA N'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.

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: 0 Jr. non-major: 0 SO: X FR: X

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Speaking, Writing

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-30-2006