[ Wesleyan Home Page ] [ WesMaps Home Page ] [ Course Search ] [ Course Search by CID ]

A Century of Women in History and Memoir, 1870-1970
HIST292 SP

Crosslistings: WMST292

What kind of historical document is an autobiography? How do women tell the stories of their lives? Does the genre of autobiography provide access to women's authentic experience? How do women construct their subjectivity within the constraints of the gendered identities offered by their culture in different historical moments? How do they understand their sexuality? their public roles? In what ways do working-class and middle-class women differ in their conception of their life stories and in their ways of representing them? And what is the relationship between remembering and creating in autobiographical writing? By examining a wide range of writing--from that of a Victorian maid-servant to the work of important 20th-century literary figures--we will seek to map out changing parameters of European women's lives, looking at the relationship between individual and social/collective experiences. At the same time, we will explore the different ways of representing these worlds, paying attention to various models of storytelling and their effects.

MAJOR READINGS

The readings will include an historical textbook (Bonnie Smith, CHANGING LIVES: WOMEN IN EUROPEAN HISTORY SINCE 1700) and critical essays paired with the following autobiographies. THE DIARIES OF HANNAH CULLWICK, VICTORIAN MAIDSERVANT Margaret Davies, ed., LIFE AS WE HAVE KNOWN IT Vera Brittain, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH Carolyn Kay Steedman, LANDSCAPE FOR A GOOD WOMAN Simone de Beauvoir, MEMOIRS OF A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER Marguerite Duras, THE WAR Charlotte Delbo, DAYS AND MEMORY Christa Wolf , PATTERNS OF CHILDHOOD Emilie Carles, A LIFE OF HER OWN Jeanette Winterson, ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students will be required to keep a journal of weekly responses to the readings, to serve as a discussion facilitator, and to produce a final paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Preference will be given to European History and Women's Studies majors. 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: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE

Last Updated on MAR-24-2000

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.

Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459