Gender and Literature: U.S. Diversity

Catalog description

ENGL 353 explores depictions of gender in stories from different time periods and in a variety of literary genres, from sacred myths and fairy tales to realism and speculative fiction. Readings, writing assignments, lecture content, and in-person classroom discussions strengthen students abilities to think critically about the stories we have all been told about gender and its intersections with race, class, and other aspects of identity, whether they have been passed down through religious and cultural traditions, conveyed in popular and canonical literature, or embedded in advertising and other forms of mass media. The skills and insights gained in the course will enable students to situate their own ideas about gender within historical and contemporary cultural contexts, to understand the value of their own stories, and to believe that listening with care and respect to the stories of diverse others has the power to make the world a better place for all of us.