SEMESTER AT SEA/UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

Course Syllabus – Spring 2005 – Mary Magoulick

Eng 0610: Women and Literature

Class Meeting Schedule: DAY A – 10:45 – 12:00

Required Texts

Danticat, Edwidge. The Farming of Bones: A Novel. New York: Penguin, 1999 (ISBN: 140280499; COST: $14.00)

Head, Bessie. Maru. Heinemann, 1997 (ISBN#: 0435909630; $10.95)

Ragan, Kathleen. Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1998 (ISBN#: 0393320464; $15.95)

Roy, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. New York: Perennial, 1998 (ISBN#: 0060977493; $14)

Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter. New York: Ballantine Books, 2002 (ISBN#: 0804114986; $7.99)

Reserve Library List (recommended for research purposes)

Anzaldua, Gloria E. & Analouise Keating (Editors). This Bridge We Call Home: Radical Visions For Transformation. New York:  Routledge, 2002

Carole R. McCann, Carole R. & Seung-Kyung Kim (Editors). Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2002

Delamotte, Eugenia C. (Editor). Women Imagine Change: A Global Anthology of Resistance from 600 B. C. E. to Present. New York: Routledge, 1997

Narayan, Uma & Sandra Harding (Editors). Decentering the Center: Philosophy for a Multicultural, Postcolonial, and Feminist World (Hypatia Book). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000.

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

From ancient myths and fairy tales to contemporary multicultural fiction, writing by and about women focuses on destruction and creation. Women face hostilities and oppositions personally, socially, and existentially, but also persevere and create life, worlds, images, and stories that are compelling, comforting, or lyrical. Metaphors of weaving, sewing, quilting, cooking, and other “domestic arts” often predominate in women’s stories, and the strands and ingredients used in their stews and tapestries are cosmological, historical, political, religious, psychological and philosophical in scope. Works by contemporary multicultural women writers such as Amy Tan, Edwidge Danticat, Arundhati Roy, and Bessie Head resonate with tales of women from around the world and throughout time in portraying the oppressive forces under which women work and live. Yet the stories also allow women to emerge from defeat or oppression to find and offer art, meaning, and community (in terms of metaphor or promise if not in reality).

COURSE OBJECTIVES

As a result of this course, students will be able to do the following:

*  Distinguish major genres, periods, examples, and issues in oral and written literature of women.

*  Evaluate the literary significance of certain representative women writers and key texts (especially of traditional stories of women and contemporary multicultural women’s literature);

*  Be familiar with major theoretical strands in criticism related to the field;

*  Show awareness of women’s literature in its biographical, historical, artistic, and intellectual contexts.

*  Articulate several thoughtful written responses and substantial final written critical arguments that require analytical close reading of fiction (or other literary texts) with attention to theoretical, cultural, and historical contexts.

METHODS OF EVALUATION

Participation (includes practica completion):            10%

Observation (“field report”) essays:              20%

Critical Response Essays (20% each):   40%

Three Exams (10% each):                              30%

1)      In-class participation and discussion based on regular reading assignments, films, and in-port experiences. Students are required to attend class regularly and participate actively in class discussions. Students will lose points for poor attendance or poor participation. Students must demonstrate participation in required field practica to receive all participation points.

2)      Two (journal-type) observational essays of experiences in-port (see “field component section below; 2-3 pages each). These may include descriptive writing, analytical observations of women’s lives in various countries visited and/or of how students’ experiences match descriptions or discussions of women’s roles in readings. These should be carefully written and revised, following standard academic writing guidelines.

3)      Two critical response essays to specific assigned readings (2-3 pages). These will not be summaries, but rather critical, rigorous analyses/interpretation in answer to a specific question to be distributed in class. Research and comparison are optional. Students may want to focus analyses around both the text and experiences in-port that illuminate the text and aid interpretation. These should be carefully written and revised, following standard academic writing guidelines (organized, typed with correct grammar and spelling, etc.)

4)      Three short in-class essay exams that involve several highly focused questions over the readings, cultures, and issues studied up to that point.

Policy on Academic Integrity Issues: Students are expected to adhere to University of Pittsburgh standards concerning academic integrity with respect to exams and term papers. If the instructor suspects a student of cheating or plagiarism, the student will be challenged and the course grade may be lowered to an F. If the matter is in dispute, it will be brought first to the SAS Academic Dean, and then (if necessary) to the SAS Academic Integrity Hearing Board.

Notes

• This syllabus is a guide and as such is subject to revision. It is your responsibility as a student to attend class faithfully, note and adhere to any changes in the syllabus, and to complete all work on time. If you miss a class, contact me for any changes in readings or assignments. I DO NOT keep track of what you have missed or must make up – that is YOUR responsibility.
• Please contact me regarding any questions or concerns during the semester. If you must be absent, let me know why. If you must turn in an assignment late, let me know as soon as possible, preferably before the class in which the assignment is due. Only legitimate excuses will be accepted
• I encourage you to communicate with me about any concerns, problems, or questions you may have during the semester. I answer all e-mails and am happy to see students during my office hours.
• Active, respectful participation is required of all students. Respectful participation means listening to others’ opinions, presentations as much as speaking. Responses should be thoughtful, respectful, and based on readings or class information. Critical thinking (the basis of all college education and higher reasoning) requires you to attend to various sides of issues. You should learn to evaluate, compare, and judge information based on reason and logic rather than emotion. Active participation involves listening attentively and respectfully as much as it involves speaking. Aggressive or rude behavior will not be tolerated and will result in lower participation points.

FIELD COMPONENT

In-port work will enhance course discussions throughout the semester. Readings and sections of the course are specifically tailored to coordinate with ports of call when possible.

Students will be required to make field-based observations or to have meetings and discussions with women in the various relevant ports in order to determine how women live around the world. They should plan to discuss these observations and insights in class. They may also use them in specific written assignments that analyze the issues, themes, characters, events, etc. of various readings.

Complete three of the following four activities (note that many of the practica options below provide opportunities to carry out these assignments). Two short written reports are required to describe these experiences and how they influenced your views of women in the countries.

1. Visit a museum in any of our countries that displays art by or about women’s lives (often especially apparent in folk museums). During your visit, pay special attention (take notes; make sketches) by art by women or art about women.
2. Explore a market, a religious service, a musical performance, or a similar activity, paying special attention to the role of women at the event in any of our countries. Takes, notes, photos or recordings (with permission), focusing on the following questions. Do women play a key role? Are they allowed to be there? If you are a woman, how are you treated or how do you feel about the event?
3. Engage at least three women in any of our countries in a conversation concerning their lives and roles in society, and what contributions and roles they feel are typical of their country. You may also ask them about how they feel this compares to Western (specifically American) lifestyles and cultures.
4. Visit with your counterparts at a university in any of the countries, with a specific eye to the lives of female students there. Talk to women students, observe their participation in the school, try to find statistics about the percentage of female students, typical majors, and so on.

Participate in at least two of the following practica (or other pre-approved, equivalent activities):

KOREA:                     Service Visit: House of Children OR Kindergarten Visit

            Jeju-Do Island Trip

JAPAN:                    Overnight Homestay OR Japanese Home Visit

CHINA (Shanghai):            Family Planning Neighborhood Committee

                                    Beijing/Great Wall University-hosted Trip

                                    Tasting the everyday life of a Shanghai citizen

CHINA (Hong Kong):Family Insight Tour

                                    International Student Exchange

VIETNAM:                 Any School Visit

                                    Ben Thanh Market and Museum

INDIA:                        Missionaries of Charity or Dalit Work Project

                                    Rural India/Dakshina Chitra Village

                                    Rural Village/ Farm Visit

                                    Women Writers of India

KENYA:                     Any School Visit

SOUTH AFRICA:            Visit to Township

                                    Amy Biehl Foundation Trust

BRAZIL:                     Cachoeira  OR  Family Planning

VENEZUELA:            International Student Exchange

                                    Rural Town Visit  OR  Gustavo Machado Orphanage

COURSE SCHEDULE (22 sessions of 75-minute class meetings every other day at sea)

PART I (7 sessions): Women from Asia: Traditional & Contemporary Tales

Session A1:             Introduction & Syllabus

Session A2:             Read (from Ragan) “Tales from Asia,” pp. 219-251

Session A3:            Read The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan, pp. 1-106

Session A4:             Read  Tan, pp. 107-200

Session A5:            Read  Tan, pp. 201-303

Session A6:            Read  Tan, pp. 304-403

                        EXAM I – on Tan and Tales

Session A7:            Read (from Ragan) “Tales from Asia,” pp. 167-218

PART II (4 sessions): Women from India 

Session A8:            Film: Monsoon Wedding & Rd: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy pp. 1-83

Session A9:            Film: Monsoon Wedding & Read: Roy, pp. 84-147

Session A10:            Read: Roy pp. 148-238

Assignment: First In-Port Response Essay Due

Session A11:            Read: Roy, pp. 239-321

PART III (4 sessions): Women from Africa

Session A12:            Film: TBA (Faat Kiné or another); Read: Maru by Bessie Head, pp. 1-38

Session A13:            Film (cont.); Read: Maru by Bessie Head, pp. 38-73

                        Assignment: 1^st Critical Response to readings DUE (2-3 pages)

Session A14:            Read: Maru by Bessie Head, pp. 73-127

Session A15:            Read (from Ragan) “Tales from Sub-Saharan Africa,” pp. 311-367

                        EXAM II – on Tales, Roy, and Head                    

PART IV (2 sessions): More Traditional Tales (Women from Europe)

Session A16:            Read Ode to Demeter myth at http://www.stoa.org/diotima/anthology/demeter.shtml

Assignment: Second In-Port Response Essay Due

Session A17:            Read (from Ragan) “Tales from Europe,” pp. 3-60

PART V (3 sessions): Women from the Americas

Session A18:            Read (from Ragan) “Tales from North and South America,” pp. 101-152.

Session A19:            Read: The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat, pp. 1-101

Session A20:            Read Danticat, pp. 102-203

Assignment: 2^nd Critical Response to readings DUE (2-3 pages)

Session A21:            Read Danticat, pp. 204-312

Session A Finals: EXAM III – on Tales and Danticat

NOTE: All readings should be completed before the beginning of class on the day they’re assigned.