ENGL 1120 Introduction to Women’s Literature

Description

Introduction to Women’s Literature introduces students to women’s literature and women’s contributions to the literary canon. The course will examine women’s roles and identities within the context of history and society as reflected by women in their literature as well as the consumption of and reactions to their works. Readings will be selected from a variety of genres - including poetry, fiction and nonfiction - and from a variety of women with diverse backgrounds - including ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation - throughout different historical periods, with an emphasis on American and British writers. This course will approach texts through gender, cultural, and historical strategies. Assignments include several brief literary analyses as well as a final research project.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

ENGL 0095 or placement by multiple measures

Topics to be Covered

1. Women in the public and private spheres

2. Race, Class, Sexuality, and Ethnicity

3. Mothers and Daughters

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify how women’s developing and changing roles are reflected in their writing. (MnTC Goals 6.2 and 7.1)

2. Recognize common motifs, themes, and styles in the assigned literature. (MnTC Goal 6.3)

3. Examine historical, cultural, and social forms and traditions as they apply to women’s literature. (MnTC Goal 7.2)

4. Employ major critical frameworks to analyze the assigned literature. (MnTC Goal 6.3)

5. Demonstrate knowledge of the texts studied and their authors. (MnTC Goal 6.1)

6. Analyze the influence of the social movements that produced them. (MnTC Goal 6.3)

7. Demonstrate the ability to explain how the concepts covered in the course are reflected in the literature studied through an analysis essay that incorporates secondary sources and demonstrates proficient writing skills and proper use of MLA guidelines. (MnTC Goal 6.4)

Credit Details

Lecture: 3

Lab: 0

OJT: 0

MnTC Goal Area(s): Goal Area 06 - The Humanities and Fine Arts, Goal Area 07 - Human Diversity

Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal Area(s) and Competencies

Goal Area 06: The Humanities and Fine Arts

1. Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.

2. Understand those works as expressions of individual and human values within a historical and social context.

3. Respond critically to works in the arts and humanities.

4. Articulate an informed personal reaction to works in the arts and humanities.

Goal Area 07: Human Diversity

1. Understand the development of and the changing meanings of group identities in the United States’ history and culture.

2. Demonstrate an awareness of the individual and institutional dynamics of unequal power relations between groups in contemporary society.

3. Describe and discuss the experience and contributions (political, social, economic, etc.) of the many groups that shape American society and culture, in particular those groups that have suffered discrimination and exclusion.

Transfer Pathway Competencies

Area 1: An Introduction to Literary Studies Course

• recognize common motifs, themes, and styles in the assigned literature. (1)

• employ major critical frameworks to analyze the assigned literature. (3)

• demonstrate knowledge of the texts studied and their authors. (2)

• demonstrate the ability to explain how the concepts covered in the course are reflected in the literature studied through an analysis essay that incorporates secondary sources and demonstrates proficient writing skills and proper use of MLA guidelines. (Objectives 1, 2, 3, and 4)

Area 3: A Diverse Literature Course

• identify how women’s developing and changing roles are reflected in their writing. (Objective 1)

• examine historical, cultural, and social forms and traditions as they apply to women’s literature. (Objective 2)

• analyze the influence of the social movements that produced them. (Objective 2)