WmnSt 352   Women in Literature              Office: AH 3175
Instructor:  Bonnie Zimmerman                Phone: 594-5749
BZimmerman@sciences.sdsu.edu                 Hours: M 3:00 - 3:45
Fall 1993                                    W 9:00 - 9:45
San Diego State Univ.                        W 3:00 - 3:45
                                             and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Women's Studies courses in the humanities analyze the effects of
gender on the imagination and on works of art such as literature.
They present a perspective on culture and tradition from a
group -- women -- who have spoken primarily from the margins of
society.  In doing so, Women's Studies offers students a more
inclusive understanding of humanity and creativity.  Women's
Studies opens a new aperture on the world: we see the differences
women have made and are making on our culture.

As a general education course in the humanities, Women in
Literature intends to critically examine the cultural endeavors
and legacies of women writing in the English language.
Recognizing that no one group of women can speak for all, it
includes as diverse a range of voices as possible.  Throughout,
the course emphasizes the similarities among women due to shared
gender, and the differences we must recognize because of
diversity in race, class, nationality, ethnicity, age, and sexual
preference.

In addition, this course emphasizes reading with comprehension
and appreciation, and speaking and writing with clarity and
cogency.  Finally, it is the instructor's sincere hope that this
course deepens your appreciation of the aesthetic and
intellectual pleasures provided by literature.

COURSE TEXTS:  Available at K-B Books, 5187 College Avenue.

Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The Norton Anthology of
     Literature by Women

Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street

Xeroxes to be handed out in class

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Weekly Reading Quizzes             10%
Midterm Exam  (in class)           30%
Endterm Exam (in class)            40%
Final 3 - 5 Page Paper             20%

The weekly quizzes are multiple choice and short answer.

The in-class exams consist of identifications, multiple choice
and short answer.

The paper is an original analytical essay based on the final
week's assigned readings. You will receive a full description of
the assignment later in the semester.


GRADING POLICY:

Make-up exams and late submission of papers are not acceptable
without serious and compelling reasons.  Late papers will be
downgraded at the discretion of the instructor.  You may take an
exam early by prior arrangement.  Quizzes will be given the first
day that a group of readings is assigned, beginning September 13.
They are given at the beginning of the class and no make-ups are
allowed under any circumstances.  Nor can you take the quiz and
leave: do not ask!  However, the lowest quiz score will be
dropped.  The following grading scale will be used.

     A         Outstanding achievement in both substance and style.
     B         Superior achievement.
     C         Average achievement.  The most common undergraduate grade.
     D         Below average achievement.  Passing at a minimal level.
     F         Failure to achieve class goals.

I also use plus/minus grading.  The course can be taken Credit/No
Credit; to receive CR a student must complete all course
requirements with an average of C (not C minus).  I rarely give
incompletes, and you must have completed at least 75% half the
course requirements with a C average.


A few additional course policies:

Students are responsible for all assignments and announcements
presented in class.  If you arrive late, leave early, or are
absent, it is your responsibility to contact another student.

Audio and/or video taping is not permitted except with prior
permission of the instructor.

Visitors are occasionally permitted, but only with prior approval
by the instructor.  Visitors are asked not to participate in
class discussions except under special circumstances.

I am available for consultation during scheduled office hours and
by appointment.  Do not hesitate to make an appointment.  If you
are having any difficulties at all, see me; don't wait until it's
too late to improve the situation.

And, of course, mature adult behavior is expected at all times.


COURSE OUTLINE:

Date

Aug 30-Sept 3  Introduction

Sept 8-10      Women and Creativity
               Bradstreet:    The Prologue (61)
               Woolf:         A Room of One's Own [Shakespeare's
               Sister]             (1376)
               Das:           An Introduction (2247)
               Walker, A.:    In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens
               (2374)

Sept 13-17     Breaking the Stereotypes
               Truth:         Ain't I a Woman?  (253)
               Dickinson:     #613-They Shut Me Up in Prose (855)
                              #657-I Dwell in Possibility  (855)
               Walker, M.:    Kissie Lee (1827)
               Swenson:       Women (1909)
               Yamada:        Masks of Woman (xerox)
               Tovar:         To Other Women Who Were Ugly Once
               (xerox)

Sept 20-24          Learning to "Read" Women's Lives
               Wheatley:      On Being Brought From Africa to
                              America (133)
               Harper:        Learning to Read (832)
               Glaspell:      Trifles (1389)
               Dinesen:       The Blank Page (1418)

Sept 27-Oct 1  Growing Up Female I
               Bronte:        Jane Eyre (chapters 1-22)

Oct 4-8        Growing Up Female II
               Bronte:        Jane Eyre (chapters 23-38)


Oct 11-15      REVIEW AND MIDTERM EXAMINATION I


Oct 18-22      Growing Up Female III
               Morrison:      The Bluest Eye

Oct 25-29      Growing Up Female IV
               Cisneros:      The House on Mango Street

Nov 1-5        Power Within, Power Without
               Harper:        Vashti (830)
               Angelou:       I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
(2002)
               Rich:          Power (2036)
               Atwood:        Rape Fantasies (2299)
               Kingston:      No Name Woman (2337)
               Griffin:       I Like to Think of Harriet Tubman
               (2363)

Nov 8-12       Women in Families
               Gilman:        The Yellow Wallpaper (1148)
               Hurston:       Sweat (1639)
               Olsen:         Tell Me a Riddle (1789)
               Lessing:       To Room 19 (1881)
               Yamamoto:      Seventeen Syllables (xerox)

Nov 15-19      Between Women
               Philips:       To My Excellent Lucasia (81)
               Rossetti:      Goblin Market (886)
               Richardson:    Two Hanged Women (1210)
               Stein:         Ada (1334)
               Grahn:         A History of Lesbianism (xerox)
               Clarke:        Of Althea and Flaxie (xerox)
               Tsui:          A Chinese Banquet (xerox)

Nov 22-24, 30  Across the Generations
               Yezierska:     The Fat of the Land (1424)
               LeSueur:       Annunciation (1628)
               Brooks:        The Mother (1853)
               Aidoo:         The Message (2348)
               Walker, A.:    Everyday Use (2366)
               Silko:         Lullaby (2383)
               Villanueva:    To Jesus Villanueva, With Love
               (xerox)

Dec 1-3, 6     REVIEW AND MIDTERN EXAMINATION II

Dec 8-10       Adventures and Visions
               Bogan:         Women (1612)
               LeGuin:        Sur (2008)
               Rich:          Diving Into the Wreck (2032)
               Russ:          When It Changed (2262)
               Anzaldua:      To live in the Borderlands means you  (xerox)
               Harjo:         The Woman Hanging from the 13th Floor 
                              Window   (xerox)

Dec 15         Final Paper Due