Writing Women, Part 1

Catalog description

This is a sophomore-level course designed for students who are curious about the literary and social history of women’s writing between 1660 and 1700. We’ll survey the work of influential writers of the time period who identified as female, and add a few texts by men writing about women. We’ll consider how women's writing participated in the many worlds from which women were excluded — the worlds of inherited literary tradition, formal education, commerce, religious debate, and contemporary politics, to name a few. The course focuses on authors resident in “Great Britain” (a national entity still under development during this time, as we shall see) between the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 and the turn of the eighteenth century. Another course, ENGL 1331 , focuses on 1700-1790. Students may take one or both of these stand-alone courses. No prerequisites required. See the English Department's website at www.english.upenn.edu for a description of the current offerings.