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This course is dedicated to American women writers who participated in what Juliann E. Fleenor has defined as “the female gothic,” an approach to the gothic literary tradition that foregrounds gender politics and questions patriarchy and its effects. Nineteenth-century women writers, famously patronized as “scribbling women” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, shaped the literary marketplace and offered valuable contributions to what has become American literature. In this course, we will read “gothic” texts and also look at overlaps with other modes of writing such as “sensationalism” and “sentimentalism.” Our focus will be on the cultural work of these texts, their politics and approaches to nineteenth-century American society, which was in constant turmoil. Among other authors, we will read texts by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, and Ida B. Wells. Students who take this class should be interested in the close reading and discussion of literature. Texts will be made available for print and purchase at “Sprintout.”
Requirements: regular participation and preparation, short presentation, two assignments (thesis statement & study question) |
