English 372-02: Women in Literature

                                 Fall Semester, 1998
                          11am-12:15pm, Tuesday and Thursday

                            Instructor: Dr. Tamara Yohannes
                          E-Mail: tjyoha01@ulkyvm.louisville.edu

Nobody knows how many rebellions beside political rebellions ferment in
the masses of life which people earth.  Women are supposed to be very calm
generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their
faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they
suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as
men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged
fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making
puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering
bags.  It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek
to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced for their sex.
                                  - -Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, 1847.

Course Description:
This is a reading course sampling a variety of the literature written in
English by women from the Medieval period to the present, with particular
attention to the 20th Century.  The emphasis of the class will be on your
reading of the texts, and class time will be spent in class discussion and
on close reading of individual passages to highlight important points and
to place those texts within their literary and cultural contexts.

Textbooks:
Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar, Eds. The Norton Anthology of
   Literature by Women: The Traditions in English. 2nd ed. NY: WW Norton,
   1996.

Bronte, Charlotte. Villette. [1853]. NY:Bantam Books, 1986.


Course Requirements:

Response Papers- 24 points (1 point per paper)
Mid-Term Exam  - 36 points
Final Exam     _ 40 points
             --------------
         TOTAL:  100 points


Exams:
Exams will include both objective and essay sections. They will cover the
readings assigned, with emphasis on those discussed in class.  The Final
Exam will contain an essay question covering material from the entire
course.  Make-ups will be given with prior permission only.

Response Papers:
These short (1-2 page) papers are due at the BEGINNING OF EACH CLASS
PERIOD.  They should reflect the fact that you have read and thought about
the readings assigned for that day.  They might include your thoughts,
feelings or questions generated by the readings and your efforts to
grapple with what the texts are really saying.  They might include any
comments that you have regarding how a text relates to other texts already
studied.  The format and content are really up to you, except that I ask
you to avoid retelling the stories and to refrain from merely stating that
you do not understand the texts.  Typed papers would be appreciated, but
handwritten papers will be accepted so long as they are legible.  No late
papers will be accepted without a medical excuse and even tehn papers are
due the day of your return.  Only 24 papers are required fro a semester
that includes 26 class periods during which readings will be discussed.
That gives you some leeway and explains the "no late papers" policy.

Grading:
        90-100 points - A
        80-89  points - B
        70-79  points - C
        60-69  points - D
  less than 60 points - F


Additional Comments:
Bring your textbook to class each day.  Should class be cancelled, we will
keep to the syllabus, but you can turn in a response paper for the
cancelled class on the day class resumes.  As always, cheating or
plagiarism will result in an automatic F.  Again, this is a reading
course, and emphasis is on your reading and interaction with the texts.
There should be no reason whatsoever to indulge in either plagiarism or
cheating.