Outlaw(ed): Progressive women in literature and society

This course examines outlaw(ed) women from a cultural studies perspective by questioning and denaturalizing what it means to be a “real” or “normal” woman in literature written by women of color, and consider how these “laws” of womanhood are manifest in actual women's lives. The course departs from two related questions: Who gets to define what it means to be a woman, how and for what purpose? And, what are the consequences for those who transgress the rules – by choice or chance? Students will deepen their critical thinking abilities through class discussions, as well as written and oral presentations as they explore how writers draw on personal experience, social theories, literary devices and cultural rituals to develop persuasive arguments that questions, disturb, revise or fortify the boundaries of womanhood. By revealing the underlying norms, rules & expectations that delimit acceptable womanhood, we will pay particular attention to how the constraints on and consequences of transgression vary with class, race, religion and nationality.

034451