Women’s Literature: Mobility, Identity, and Change

ENG2024

How do gender, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and social class intersect in literature? This course explores representations of women’s journeys—to literacy, power, and self-fulfillment—through art, marriage, and motherhood in a range of genres.

This course is an in-depth review and examination of central works by women writers from the nineteenth century to the present. We will read a selection of writers from diverse backgrounds to address the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and social class. We will explore representations of women’s journeys—to literacy, power, and self-fulfillment—through art, marriage, and motherhood in a range of genres (e.g., bildungsroman, slave narratives, realism, naturalism, memoirs). Our goal will be to gain a new appreciation of how a modern woman’s subjectivity is forged through (and beyond) existing gender roles.

Compulsory for students in Bachelor of English. The course is also offered as an elective outside of this programme.

Upon completion of the course, the student will have achieved the following learning outcomes:

KNOWLEDGE

• engage basic reference points for literary study through discussing a selection of texts;

• connect the texts through their awareness of genre convention

• consider the ideas that are important for understanding the relationship between selected works of literature

• use the appropriate vocabulary and critical theories for analyzing the relationship between selected literary texts

SKILLS

• ability to make both wide-ranging and precise comparisons between the course texts

• ability to connect texts based on awareness of genre conventions

• ability to articulate and assess key ideas and concepts about literature

• ability to develop strategies for reading open-ended and reflective literary works

GENERAL COMPETENCIES

• reflect upon their knowledge of literature and its relationship to the English language literary history and contemporary trends

• have an understanding of the historical and cultural concerns of a selection of texts

• understand the relevance of the literary past to our own time and cultural and literary sensibilities

No tuition fees. Semester fees and cost of course literature apply.

Elective

Teaching will be in the form of lectures and discussions of primary literary texts and secondary critical theories. The course methodology will be clearly established in the first meeting.

Evaluation using mid-term and final surveys. Students are also encouraged to participate in the central quality surveys

Compound evaluation, grading scale A-E for pass, F for fail

Compulsory participation OD, mim. participation 85%, comprises 0/100 of the grade, grading scale: Approved - Not approved.
Two assessment tasks (short essay format) AK, comprises 0/100 of the grade, grading scale: Approved - Not approved.
Take home examination, HJ, individual, 2 weeks, comprises 100/100 of the grade, grading scale A-E for pass, F for fail.

All aids allowed

Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating

It is recommended that students have taken the English One-Year Programme or a similar introductory survey program, including a class in research and writing, before proceeding with a more advanced class.

Subject language

English

Credits

Study location

Bodø

Responsible faculty

The Faculty of Education and Arts

Course coordinator

Associate Professor

Myrto Drizou

myrto.drizou@nord.no