Domesticity and Gender in 19th-Century American Literature and Culture
ENGL 265
Fall 2007 not offered
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 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. |
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Essential Capabilities:
None |
| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ENGL |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (FGSS) |
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
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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. |
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