Instr:                  Sukanya Banerjee
Office:               CRT 497,   229-5454
e-mail:                banerjee@uwm.edu
Office hours:    by appointment

Course Information:                   TR 3:30-4:45pm   MER   G16
 

Course Description

Examining a number of novels written in various socio-cultural and historical contexts, this course examines the complex but often unquestioned relationship between women and ideas of national identity. We are familiar with the terms “motherland” or “mother country,” but what is the significance of drawing such a relationship between women and country? In what ways do women symbolize national identities, and how does this formulation fashion women’s identities, their roles in the family, their social and cultural lives, etc.? By studying novels written from different parts of the world (North America, England, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, and the Middle East), we will engage with the ways in which women’s lives and writings both reinforce and challenge contending factors of patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, and globalization.