English 595WW: Twentieth Century Women Writers:
Feminist Theory
Fall 2007
Tuesdays 7-9:45 p.m.
Instructor: Ian Barnard
This particular section of English 595WW treats a field of 20th Century
women’s writing that has had a revolutionary impact on English studies in
the past fifty years: feminist theory. We’ll engage primarily with recent US
feminist theory, situating this work in the histories and politics of
postcoloniality. Topics will include the feminist “sex wars,” feminism and
race, feminism and postmodernism, “men in feminism,” feminist film
theory, and specific feminist theories in various areas of English studies.
We’ll end by reading Jane Gallop’s scandalous memoir, Feminist Accused of
Sexual Harassment. We’ll also watch some Madonna music videos, and
hopefully we’ll be able to see Chantal Akerman’s ground-breaking feminist
film, Jeanne Dielman.
Seminar meetings will be discussion-based. No tests/exams. Course
requirements will include critical reading/viewing of all assigned texts
(theoretical writings, music videos, a film, student-selected readings, a
novel), vigorous participation in class discussions, a 20 page seminar paper,
and a collaborative oral presentation on one of five topics: 1) feminist
literary theory, 2) feminist rhetoric and composition theory, 3) feminist
linguistics theory, 4) feminist creative writing theory, 5) feminist theory and
the K-12 classroom.
Syllabus will be available this summer at <http://www.csun.edu~ib5991>.
This course may be counted toward all options in the English M.A. program.