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English 2330--Women in Literature Dr. Ayne Cantrell COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES: English 2330--Women in Literature--fulfills the last required three hours of general studies English. English 1010, 1020, and 2130 are prerequisites. English 2330 also gives three hours credit in building a Women's Studies minor, although you cannot count the course for both English and Women's Studies credit. In English 2330, we will read poetry, fiction, and drama (about 1,000 pages) mostly written in the last half of the 20th century. We will focus on the characterization of women primarily by female writers and explore the sex-role depiction of women in literature. Our exploration of women in literature will include images of women as wives, mothers, woman on the pedestal, sex objects, and women without men (widows, unmarried women, and lesbians) and images of autonomous as well as self-effacing women. We will examine female sex-role stereotypes as they appear in literature and the problems that characters experience as a result of the stereotyping. We will also study depictions of women that break free of stereotypes and the problems female characters experience as a result. And we will always be interested in how gender intersects with considerations of race, ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation. Although our main concern will be with fictional characters and fictional techniques, we will discuss how literature reflects society's expectations of female/male behavior and how literature may influence female/male behavior. The goals of our study are (1) to build upon the analytical skills learned in English 2130 that make the appreciation and understanding of literature possible, (2) to learn to analyze literature from a feminist perspective that places gender at the center of analysis, and (3) to gain a greater appreciation of the concerns and artistry of contemporary women writers. READING CONTENT NOTICE: Some of the required reading contains material that could be offensive to some students. Explicit sex and profanities would most likely get a "R" rating at the movies. In no way is this material pornographic, but if you suspect that the reading will offend you, you should drop the course immediately. TEXTS: (1) Mary Anne Ferguson's Images of Women in Literature, 5th ed. MATERIALS: (1) Theme Folder for English 211, 223, 224 with wide-lined paper ACTIVITIES: Reading--There will be daily reading assignments, including short stories, poems, short plays, and two short novels. Since class discussion depends on the completion of reading assignments, it is imperative that assignments are completed on time. In the rare instance when you have not read the assignment, you must tell me that you are not prepared to discuss the reading before class begins. Writing--
Speaking--You should always be prepared to discuss the literature assigned, and especially be prepared with responses to study questions. Also occasionally you will participate in informal small group discussions about the literature. COURSE POLICIES: Attendance/Tardiness--Because class discussion is an integral part of our course of study that cannot be made up if missed, because the mid-term and final examinations are based on class discussion of the literature, and because daily quizzes and study question submissions cannot be made up, it is to your advantage to attend class regularly. Also it is rude to arrive habitually late, so be on time, too! Late Work--Daily quizzes and study question responses cannot be made up; unexcused late work for all other assignments will be penalized one letter grade for each class period late. Usually I will not accept work more than one week late. Should you want me to excuse a late assignment, you must write a note explaining your tardiness, and I will consider if the excuse warrants acceptance of the late work. Grading--Your course grade will be based on these averages: 20% Mid-term examination I will use the following grading scale (final course grades will be reported with plusses/minuses if the majority of students vote to do so on the second day of class): A 90-100, B 89-80 C79-70 D 69-60 F 59 and below In addition to the quality of work, the following factors will affect your grade in the course: (1) Examinations and both homework writings must be completed to earn course credit. (2) Quizzes and study questions cannot be made up, although I will drop three low scores for each. (3) Class participation may improve your course grade in borderline cases (e.g., Ct to B-). (4) Grammatical and mechanical errors (including typing errors) will lower grade on all written work. I expect you to edit your writing well and to avoid the following errors especially: misspellings, sentence fragments, comma splice and run-on sentences, disagreements of subjects and verbs and pronoun and antecedents, misuse of principal parts of verbs, and omission or misuse of the apostrophe. MTSU WRITING CENTER: The Writing Center (Peck Hall 325) offers free tutoring to help you with your writing. |
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