Women in Literature

Literature 45

Contents:

Announcements

Discussion Page

About Your Class

Class Syllabus

Lecture Notes

Reading List

Recommended Reading

Assignments

Resources and Web Sites

Grading Policies

Contact Your Instructor

 

Irvine Valley College / Fall 2012

Marjorie C. Luesebrink, M.F.A., Professor

course syllabus and assignments

Literature 45  -- Women in Literature


Ticket Number:  #90065

Your grade in Women in Literature will be based in part on the written assignments for the class and in part on class participation.

Two Written Formal Assignments and Regular, Weekly Postings on the Discussion List will be required of those seeking a grade.  If you wish to take the class Credit/NoCredit, you need only do the Weekly Written Posts and the Research Project.

A.  Weekly Assignments that respond to your lecture, the reading, the discussion threads of other students, and your own research.  If appropriate, you may use material from your weekly to include as  part of your Research Project.

(NOTE:  you must post once a week on time on the Discussion List to pass the class.  Also, you need to read all the posts from the students for the week.  The Discussion list is our class session.  I will often convey important information to students in answer to their posts.  )

 

B.  A Research Project

C.  A take-home, written Final Exam.

 

Schedule of Weekly Assignments

    1. Introduction and Orientation:  Monday, August 20, 2012
    2. Images of Women in Literature:  Monday, August 27, 2012
    3. Women Writers Through the Ages:  Monday, September 3, 2012
    4. Women and the New World:  Monday, September 10, 2012
    5. Aphra Behn and the proto-novel:  Monday, September 17, 2012
    6. Science and Fiction: Mary Shelley and the Frankenstein Legacy:  Monday, September 24, 2012
    7. The Novel and the Middle Class: Jane Austen tells us How:  Monday, October 1, 2012
    8. Romance and the Romantics:  Monday, October 8, 2012
    9. The Gothic world of the Bronte Sisters:  Monday, October 15, 2012
    10. Late Victorian Scribblers:  Monday, October 22, 2012
    11. The Modern Novel: Virginia Woolf and the Word:  Monday, October 29, 2012
    12. The Contemporary Novel:  Monday, November 5, 2012
    13. Other Voices:  Monday, November 12, 2012
    14. The Electronic Frontier:  Monday, November 19, 2012
    15. Women of the Web:  Monday, November 26, 2012
    16. Review and sharing of papers:  Monday, December 3, 2012

     

 

  1. Introduction and Orientation - Women in the Mists/Midst
  2. Week 1.  

    Assignment: Literature by and about women has always been seen as "other" - that is, human experience was defined by the historical and literary production of men, for the greater part of our history.  Examine some of the assumptions you have about women, archetypes you are familiar with, and reasons why you might assume that writing by women is "inferior."

    Be sure to begin a notebook to save your assignments, the collected assignments in the notebook will be part of your Final Research Project.

    Reading Assignment: Behn, Oronooko //Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  3. Images of Women in Literature
  4. Week  2.  

    The second week will focus on the images of women we find in all cultures.  

    Assignment: In our discussion time, we hope to have members of the class introduce their colleagues to a favorite writer.  In a survey class of this kind, we are unlikely to cover every writer that has been important to class members.  As a way of introducing the class to more women writers, each of you is encouraged to select a writer and prepare a short discussion topic about a writer of your choice. (You may want to choose from the list of writers provided on the Recommended Reading pages.)

    You are encouraged to begin participating in the class discussion forum. This forum will allow you to communicate with classmates, ask questions, and share your own reading experiences with others.  If you do not have regular access to a computer, the discussion will be archived at the Women in Literature Discussion Site for later reading. 

    Reading Assignment : Behn, Oronooko

                                          Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  5. Women Writers Through the Ages
  6. Week 3.  

    The third class will investigate the writing of women from early days.  

    Assignment:  As the class moves into the chronology of the reading list, we will be covering our writers in historical (chronological) order.  However, we will also be concerned with overall themes that are common in issues about writing by women - issues such as Sociological concerns (class, economic determinants, etc.), Sylistic elements (language, tone), Gender relationships, and Authorship features.  You will be choosing a writer that will be your focus for your Research Project.  Each of these analytical elements will be important in your Research Project.  Begin a notebook in which you keep notes linking major thematic elements with the author you are researching.  Keep this commentary in your notebook and share it with your class members in the discussion forum.

    Reading Assignment: Mary Shelley:  Frankenstein

                                          Recommended:   Website Materials..

     

  7. Women and the New World 
  8. Week 4.  

    The fourth class session will explore the developments of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth centuries that opened up the world of publication possibilities for women writers.

    Assignment: Each of your weekly assignments is building toward your Research Project. This week, look at the author you have selected to determine her place in the history of women's writing.  Establish the birth and death dates of your writer and place that writer in historical time, perspective.   If you have trouble figuring out the historical surrounds of your writer, ask about this in discussion group, or ask me for assistance.  

    Reading Assignment: Mary Shelley:  Frankenstein

     

  9. Aphra Behn and the Proto-novel
  10. Week 5

    The fifth class session will begin an investigation into other aspects of women's writing.  

    Assignment: Each of your weekly assignments is building toward your Research Project. During this week, examine the works that your writer has produced.  What genre do they fit in?  What kind of hero or heroine tends to be at the center of the story?  What is the voice that your writer tends to adopt?  In what ways would your writer have benefited from the development and subsequent popularity of the Novel?  Write down your thoughts about these issues.

    Reading AssignmentJane Austen:  Mansfield Park

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  11. Science and Fiction: Mary Shelley and the Frankenstein Legacy

    Week 6.  

    In the sixth class session we will examine some of the late Eighteenth, early Nineteenth century ideas about religion, gender, individual freedom, and emerging science that influenced women writers.  

    Assignment: Write a proposal for your Final Research Project. You may bring this to my office or you may e-mail it to me during the week. You can see the guidelines for the Final Research Project on the Women in Literature website. This proposal needs to be one page or less.

    Reading Assignment: Jane Austen:  Mansfield Park

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  12. The Novel and the Middle Class: Jane Austen tells us How

    Week 7. 

    The seventh class session we will follow the development of the novel as a "middle class" vehicle - the means by which large numbers of people (not women only) began to participate in the great adventure of social mobility and freedom.  

    Assignment: During this week, you should take a careful look at the sociological and economic background that informs the work of your writer.  No matter how "timeless" a work may be (as is Austen's), the seeds of the time and place of creation will always be embedded in the final product.  

    Reading Assignment: Emily Bronte:  Wuthering Heights

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials.

     
  13. Romance and the Romantics

    Week 8.  

    In the eighth class session we will take a look at the genre which has been most commonly associated with women - the Romance.  

    Assignment: Add to your notebook of observations for your final project by looking a the Romantic elements you find in your writer.  

    Reading Assignment: Emily Bronte:  Wuthering Heights

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  14. The Gothic world of the Bronte Sisters  

    Week 9.  

    In the ninth week we will look at the Bronte sisters, their short and unhappy lives, and the new "cult" of the woman writer.  

    Assignment: Add to your notes for your Final Research Project by examining the authorial image and "life story" of your writer.  To what extent did the public personal influence the writing and the survival of the work? 

    Reading Assignment: Emily Bronte:  Wuthering Heights

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials.

     

  15. Late Victorian Scribblers

    Week 10. 

    In the tenth week we will look at two categories of women writers that begin to emerge as literary forces at the end of the Nineteenth century - the Late Victorian Scribbler and the feminist writer.  

    Assignment: Add to your notes for your final project by looking at the publication career of your writer.  To what extent does your writer challenge existing moral standards?  Are there hidden or submerged references to new ideas, critiques of the status-quo? 

    Reading Assignment: Virginia Woolf:  A Room of One's Own

                                         Recommended:  Website Materials..

     

  16. The Modern Novel--Virginia Woolf and the Word

    Week 11.  

In the eleventh week we will examine the roots of the modern novel.  

Assignment:  Add to your notes for your final project by looking carefully at the language and style of your writer.  Is your writer using language to question the reality of things?  Does your writer adopt a stylisitc attitude that reflects her historical period?   

Reading Assignment: Virginia Woolf:  A Room of One's Own

                                     Recommended:  Website Materials.

 

XII.  The Contemporary Novel

Week 12. 

The twelfth week will concentrate on the women writers (not all novelists) and novels that fall roughly into the "contemporary" category - the 1950's on, for our purposes.  

Assignment:  Add to your notes for your final project by identifying the elements that will come to characterize contemporary women and their work.  How does your writer emphasize moral and ethical values in character, plot, and event?  Is your writer acting as a part of a recognized female writing tradition? 

Reading Assignment: Joan Didion, The Last Thing He Wanted

                                     Recommended:  Website Materials.

 

XIII.  Other Voices

Week 13. 

The thirteenth class session re-introduces the concept of voice and voicelessness.   

Assignment:  You should have gathered some good material by now for your Research Paper.  Please be sure to consult with me about your thesis, direction, and documentation. You are welcome to get class feedback on your project on the discussion list.  Continue writing. 

Reading Assignment: Toni Morrison:  Sula

                                     Recommended:  Website Materials.

 

XIV.  The Electronic Frontier

Week 14. 

In the fourteenth week we move into the Twenty-first Century, so to speak, with a look at the new electronic writing.  

Assignment:  Continue writing your Research Paper.

Reading AssignmentM.D. Coverley:  Califia

                                     Recommended:  Website Materials.

 

XV.  Women of the Web

Week 15. 

The fifteenth week will give us a chance to examine the work being done by women writers on the WWW. 

Assignment:  Continue writing your Research Paper.

Reading AssignmentM.D. Coverley:  Califia

                                     Recommended:  Website Materials

Discussion of Take-Home Exam: Regularly-Scheduled Final Date.

 

XVI.  Review: 

Week 16.  

       Assignment:  Mail in or turn in your Research Paper by Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Take-Home Exam: Due Wednesday, December 12, 2012 by e-mail or hard copy if you like.

_________________________

______________________________

Required Written Work

A.  The Research Project.

The Final Research Project will be a result of your own research into an author of your choice and may include some of your posts or weekly writing assignments.  As soon as you have chosen an author you would like to write about for your Research Project, you may use your research material to help you answer the Weekly Assignment Questions, as well. 

[You should keep the Weekly Assignment responses in a notebook or computer file in addition to posting them to the Discussion List.  Then, you will be able to use some of your Weekly Assignment responses in your Research Project if they add to your essay about your chosen author.]  

Description. 

Each of us has a favorite woman writer.  In the first weeks of class, you will becoming familiar with new writers, too, that may interest you. You should choose, as soon as you feel comfortable, one woman writer that you would like to concentrate on during the semester.  This assignment will allow you  to read, research, and analyze the work of this writer and respond to her work in the light of the issues we will study in class.   (You should read 3-4 books by the author that you choose for your project.  At the end of the class, you will write a formal Research Paper on a focused topic that relates to the themes of the class. 

Documentation:

Please note that this paper requires both Works Cited and a Bibliography!There are many resources on the web for format and documentation of your paper - a good guide to the MLA style for preparing papers is


A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation (Humanities Dept. & the Arthur C. Banks, Jr., Library, Capital Community-Technical C., Hartford, Connecticut)

and there are many other resources at Voice of the Shuttle - Style Guides are available at Voice of the Shuttle as well as links to many women writers.

Due Date:

The hard copy or the e-mail version is due Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Requirements:

The written assignments must be typed, proof-read, and the grammar should be correct.  Your Research Paper should follow MLA guidelines and include both a Bibliography and a Works Cited documentation system.

Back to beginning

  

B.  The take-home, written Final Exam.

Remember:  If you wish to take the class Credit/No Credit, you need only do the Weekly Posting Assignments and the Research Project. For students seeking a letter grade of A or B, the Final Exam is a requirement.

The written, take-home exam may be started at any time after the first half of the semester.

written Final Exam

Due Date

The take-home Final Exam will be due on Wednesday, December 12, 2012.  Also, during finals, I will be available for consultation on your progress in the class. 

If you have questions about how these two written assignments contribute to your grade in the class, please see Grading Policies.

 

Enjoy the Magic!