English 287 - REPRESENTING WOMEN/RENAISSANCE

In this course, we explore the cultural and literary work of "representing women in the Renaissance" through the primary lens of a striking range of works by women authors in the period. Reading works of fiction, poetry and drama, as well as polemical texts, public speeches, private diaries and mothers' advice books by women of the 16th and 17th centuries, we consider what possibilities were available to women; the extent to which they conformed to, adapted, or differentiated themselves from the genres used by their male contemporaries; the conditions under which they wrote and encouraged others to write; the attitudes they took toward themselves as writers and toward their work; their writing as it exemplifies their concerns as individuals, and as members of social and historical groups. In particular, we consider how these texts reflect and resist the social constraints under which women wrote, in a culture that perceived women's words as sexual threat. Requirements include active class participation, regular short written responses and two substantial pieces of writing -? (guidelines on the syllabus). Prerequisite: a WI course.