Graduate Studies in Gender and Text

Catalog description

This course explores a variety of texts written since 1945 by women, including authors such as Toni Morrison, Lorraine Hansberry, Marilynne Robinson and Adrienne Rich. Students will analyze how race, sexuality, class, nationality, motherhood and other factors influence writers' notions of gender. In addition to immersing students in contemporary women's literature, this course aims to provide students with a window into the history, politics and culture of post-1945 America, a period which saw the Cold War, the 'second wave' and the 'third wave' of American feminism, as well as the in intellectual theories that helped illuminate literature about gender past and present.