Feminist Fictions

Feminist Fictions is an Interdisciplinary Arts class taught by Lynne Hanley and Ellie Siegel.

Course Description
This course will explore works of fiction by post-women's liberation writers. Discussion will focus on forms of narration, use of language and structure, the representation of gender, sexuality, race and culture, and the relation of the acts of writing and reading to feminist theory and practice. Novels will include Beloved, The Autobiography of My Mother, A Book of Common Prayer, and Stone Butch Blues. We will also read short stories, A Room of One's Own, and selected critical essays. Students should expect to keep a journal consisting of at least one typed paragraph on each text, and to attend a series of films on Tuesday evenings. Students will write in a variety of forms-personal essay, literary criticism, short fiction, and autobiography. For the final project, students will write a 10-15 page portrait of their mother, which will be critiqued in small groups, revised and presented to the class. The teaching assistants in the course will each be assigned a group of students with whom they will work in a variety of ways (read their journal entries and papers, be available for advice, perhaps organize evening writing workshops for interested students). PREREQUISITE: This class is open only to first year students.

Learning Goals

 * Expressive
 * Multi-Cultural
 * Project-based
 * Presenting
 * Reading
 * Writing