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ENGL265
Domesticity and Gender in Mid-19th-Century American Literature and Culture
ENGL265 SP
Crosslistings: WMST257, AMST273
Section | Class Size | *Available | Times | POI | Prereq |
1 | 18 | 3 | Times: .T..... 7:00PM-10:00PM; | No | No |
*The number of spaces listed as available is based on class seats open for
the Blue Add phase of registration. Some seats may be taken in previous
phases while others may be held out for subsequent phases of registration.
(Last Updated on Tue Aug 10 05:00:21 EDT 1999
)
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: THE BLITHEDALE ROMANCE.
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, WOMAN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, 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, 12-18
pages)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS
Each student will
take a turn or two at initiating class discussion.
This course counts toward the English Department's
historical knowledge requirement.
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: Seminar
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Level: UG Credit: 1.00
Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA ENGL
Prerequisites:
None
- Section 01
- Pfister, J
- Times: .T..... 7:00PM-10:00PM;
- Grading Mode: A/F
- Registration Preference (1 high to 6 low, 0=Excluded) Sr: 1, Jr: 1, So: 0, Fr: 0
- Major Preference Given
Last Updated on MAR-22-1999
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