WS 335 - Women and Literature

Institution:

University at Buffalo

Subject:

Description:

Credits: 3 Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None Type: SEM Examination of issues of difference such as race, gender, class, and sexuality as imagined and narrated by contemporary women writers of speculative (science) fiction. We hope to interrogate the impact of 0th century resistance/social movements in particular, the civil rights, feminist, lesbian and gay, and human rights movements on women writers who ve chosen to write against the box of prevailing literary expectation. We also hope to consider (1) how women writers of speculative fiction subvert, or resist, the status quo; () notions of speculative fiction as escapist (meaning, less serious ) literature; (3) the uses of speculative fiction as blueprints for imagining new social orders. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the distinctive features of contemporary women s speculative fiction, the impact of specific fiction to larger feminist agendas. Students who successfully complete this course should be able to describe, explain and give examples of concepts and terms such as the fantastic imagination, the politics of possibilities, and imagined planets. Required reading will include works by Octavia Butler, Jewelle Gomez, Nalo Hopkinson, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Whenever appropriate, audio/visual aids may be deployed to enhance our appreciation of written texts.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.buffalo.edu

Phone Number:

(716) 645-2000

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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