WGSS 337 - Women's Literature: Before Thelma and Louise: American Women's Adventure Stories

Institution:

Washington University in St Louis

Subject:

Description:

American literature is filled with adventurers and adventure stories. Some of the most exciting tales were written by women. Their adventures include Mary Rowlandson's autobiography of her capture by and life with the Indians, E.D.E.N. Southworth's story of a 19th-century heroine who rescues imprisoned maidens and fights duels, and Octavia Butler's science fiction account of a 20th-century black woman who is transported back through time to an antebellum plantation. Until recently, American women authors and their stories were largely dismissed because they were perceived to focus on domestic concerns, which were seen as narrow and trivial. But the works of many women authors are far different from sentimental domestic fiction. In addition to looking closely at the historical and cultural conditions in which the narratives were written, we examine the ways in which these writers conform to and rebel against cultural prescriptions about femininity. Finally, we read some contemporary and current criticism about these works and American women's writing and discuss the politics of canon formation. Tentative Reading List: Mary Rowlandson, The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson (1682); The Journal of Madam Knight (1704); Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Hope Leslie (1827); E.D.E.N. Southworth, The Hidden Hand (1858); Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937); Octavia Butler, Kindred (1979); Paule Marshall, Praisesong for the Widow (1983). Writing-intensive.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wustl.edu

Phone Number:

(314) 935-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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