English 192-009
Freshman Seminar: American Women Writers: "Paper Tigers or Paper Dolls?"
Instr: Petty, Oody
Office: CRT 533; 229-5041
e-mail: oody@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: TR; 3:30-4:45pm; LAP 257
Course Description
Why are there separate courses in women's literature? Is there something that makes women's literature different? If a novel is popular with readers does that make it less "important"? Who judges what makes a writer's work worth studying in the classroom? What criteria are used?
In this course, we'll attempt to answer these and other questions about American women writers and their works. We will read and discuss a selection of American women's writing from the late 1700s to the mid-twentieth century. We'll examine some of the controversies surrounding the topics and themes of women's literature as well as the political and social protests embedded in many of their works. We'll also attempt to understand how literary canons are formed, and what is gained and lost in a democracy when only some voices get to be heard.
