Spring 2015
ENG (WGS) 531: Feminist Theory and Women Writers
Dr. Michelle Dowd
R 6:30-9:20
2204 MHRA
Office: 3123 MHRA
Office Hours: R 4-6PM, and by appt.
Office Phone: 334-5384
mmdowd@uncg.edu
Course Description and Objectives:
This seminar (cross-listed with WGS) will offer students the opportunity to engage with various
strands of contemporary feminist and gender theory, with particular emphasis on theories of
authorship, performance, and identity. We will engage these theoretical positions through analysis
of women’s writing from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in England, a period that
witnessed significant transformations in (and heated debates about) women’s social, political, and
religious positions. This period was also notable for the growth of opportunities for women’s
authorship in a wide variety of genres, including poetry, polemic, and drama.
Student Learning Goals:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
 Demonstrate familiarity with early modern women’s writing in a range of genres
 Critically evaluate key theoretical texts pertaining to the study of women, gender, and
literature
 Develop and hone critical writing skills, research methods, and the skills of oral
communication
 Demonstrate understanding of the complex ways that gender, culture, class, religion, race,
and sexuality function in early modern society and literature
Required Texts:
Bowerbank, Sylvia and Sarah Mendelson, eds. Paper Bodies: A Margaret Cavendish Reader. Broadview,
2000.
Hodgson-Wright, Stephanie, ed. The Tragedy of Mariam. By Elizabeth Cary. Broadview, 2000.
Additional readings on Blackboard (BB) (under “Course Documents”) and online via Jackson
Library (O). (Theoretical texts appropriate for response papers are marked with a T.)
Schedule of Readings and Assignments: (Note: this schedule is subject to change)
Jan. 15:
Introduction, or: What Does Feminist Theory Have to do with Women Writers?
Jan. 22:
Gender, Subjectivity, and Authorship: Marxist and Poststructuralist
Foundations
Roland Barthes, “The Death of the Author” (BB) (T)
Michel Foucault, “What is an Author?” (BB) (T)
Louis Althusser, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” (BB) (T)
Jan. 29:
Gender, Subjectivity, and Authorship: Feminist Responses
Janet Todd, “Directions,” from Feminist Literary History (BB) (T)
ENG 531 Syllabus: Spring, 2015- 2
Rita Felski, Beyond Feminist Aesthetics (Intro, Ch.1, & Ch. 2) (BB) (T)
Toril Moi, “I am not a woman writer,” Feminist Theory 9.3 (2008): 259-271. (O) (T)
Feb. 5:
Early Modern Women and Writing
Isabella Whitney, selections from A Sweet Nosgay and The Copy of a Letter (BB)
Please also take a look at the images of A Sweet Nosgay and The Copy of a Letter
available on Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Margaret Ferguson, “Renaissance Conceptions of the Women Writer” (BB)
Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (excerpt) (BB)
Margaret J.M. Ezell, “The Myth of Judith Shakespeare” (BB)
Feb. 12:
Forms of Poetic Authority
Martha Moulsworth, “Memorandum” (BB)
Mary Sidney, “‘Even now that Care,’” “To the Angell spirit…,” and “Thenot and
Piers in praise of Astrea” (BB)
Katherine Philips, “Upon the Double Murder of King Charles,” “Friendship’s
Mystery,” “To My Excellent Lucasia,” and “To Mrs. M.A. at Parting” (BB)
John Donne, “The Sun Rising” (BB)
Joan Scott, “The Evidence of Experience,” Critical Inquiry 17.4 (1991): 773-91. (O)
(T)
Brief excerpts from Hayden White & Felicity Nussbaum (BB)
Sasha Roberts, “Women’s Literary Capital in Early Modern England,” Women’s
Writing 14.2 (2007): 246-269 (O)
Feb. 19:
The Nature of “Woman”
Luce Irigaray, This Sex Which is Not One (Ch.2, Ch.4, Ch.5, & Ch. 11) (BB) (T)
Helene Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa” (BB) (T)
Diana Fuss, Essentially Speaking (Intro, Ch. 1, Ch. 2, & Ch. 7) (BB) (T)
Feb. 26:
The Nature of “Woman”: The Querelles des Femmes
Joseph Swetnam, The Arraignment of Lewd, idle, forward, and unconstant women (BB)
Esther Sowernam, Esther Hath Hanged Haman (BB)
Rachel Speght, A Mouzzel for Melastomus (BB)
Danielle Clarke, “The Renaissance Debate about Women” (pp.49-53; 58-79) (BB)
Christina Luckyj, “A Mouzell for Melastomus in Context: Rereading the SwetnamSpeght Debate,” ELR 40.1 (2010): 113-131. (O)
March 5:
The Nature of “Woman”: Narratives of the Fall
John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 9 (BB)
Lucy Hutchinson, Order and Disorder, Canto 4 (BB)
Aemilia Lanyer, “Eve’s Apology” (BB)
Mary Roper, “The Creation of Man” and “Man’s Shameful Fall” (BB)
Dorothy Calthorpe, “A Description of the Garden of Eden” (BB)
Michelle Dowd and Thomas Festa, “Adam’s Rib, Eve’s Voice” (BB)
March 12:
Spring Break. No class.
ENG 531 Syllabus: Spring, 2015- 3
March 19:
Socio-historical Perspectives
Natalie Zemon Davis, “Women on Top” (BB) (T)
Gayle Rubin, “The Traffic in Women” (BB) (T)
Kathryn Schwarz, “Willing Women” (BB) (T)
ABSTRACT AND ANOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
March 26:
Drama, Gender, and Politics
Elizabeth Cary, The Tragedy of Mariam, in Hodgson-Wright.
Susan Amussen, “Political Households and Domestic Politics” (BB)
Nancy Guttierez, “Valuing Mariam: Genre Study and Feminist Analysis,” Tulsa
Studies in Women’s Literature 10.2 (1991): 233-51 (O)
April 2:
No class.
April 9:
Drama, Gender, and Politics: Part 2
Margaret Cavendish, The Convent of Pleasure, in Bowerbank.
Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in
Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-531. (O)
(T)
Judith Butler, “Preface” and “Introduction” to Bodies That Matter (BB) (T)
April 16:
Politics and Form, or: Royalism and Feminism?
Margaret Cavendish, The Description of a New World Called the Blazing World, in
Bowerbank.
Queen Elizabeth, “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury” (BB)
Catherine Gallagher, “Embracing the Absolute: Margaret Cavendish and the Politics
of the Female Subject in Seventeenth-Century England” (BB)
April 23:
Last day of class. Pizza party!
Monday, April 27: SEMINAR PAPERS DUE by 5PM
Course Requirements and Grading:
MA and PhD Students:
Discussion Prompts:
Class Participation:
Theory Response Paper
Seminar Paper
10%
30%
20%
40%
BA Students:
Class Participation:
Theory Response Paper
Abstract & Annotated Bibliography
Seminar Paper
25%
20%
15%
40%
Note: Completion of all assignments is required to pass the course.
ENG 531 Syllabus: Spring, 2015- 4
Attendance: Excellent attendance is expected in advanced-level seminars and is essential to your
success in this course. I expect you to attend every class meeting, to arrive on time, and to
participate actively in our discussions. Please inform me if you will be unable to attend class because
you are participating in a conference or if you have a serious illness or emergency. A student who
misses three or more classes may not receive a passing grade. In cases of adverse weather, classes
will meet unless the Chancellor closes the University.
Participation: Active and thoughtful class participation is one of your most important assignments
in this course, and it represents a significant part of your grade. In order to participate fully, you will
need to come to class prepared – that is, having read the material, having thought about it critically,
and having brought it with you. You will also need to come to class ready to share your ideas with
your classmates and engage in rigorous, intellectual discussion. I expect you to be prepared with
specific questions and observations about our readings as well as particular passages that you want
to discuss.
Discussion Prompts: Each MA and PhD student in the course will be expected to take a more
active role in guiding our discussion of the texts on our syllabus. I ask that you help get our
discussion started by preparing brief leads (5 min. or so) into the material. You will need to prepare
two or three discussion questions in addition to selecting a particular passage in the reading that
you’d like to discuss. These leads are informal, but important. You will sign up for these discussion
leads at the beginning of the course. On the day that you are presenting your discussion prompts,
please turn in a copy of your questions and the citation of your passage for my reference.
Theory Response Papers: Each student in the course will write one brief (800-1000 word)
response paper on one of the theoretical works (marked with a “T”) on our syllabus. Please see the
assignment sheet posted on Blackboard for more details.
Seminar Paper: For MA and PhD students: Your final paper will be a 15-20 page research paper
(plus a standard bibliography or list of works cited) on a topic of your choice. You will also be
responsible for producing an abstract and annotated bibliography of your final project (required, but
ungraded), due in class on March 19. Please see the assignment sheet posted on Blackboard for
more details.
For BA students: Your final paper will be a 10-15 page research paper (plus a standard bibliography
or list of works cited) on a topic of your choice. You will also be responsible for producing an
abstract and annotated bibliography of your final project (which will receive a separate grade), due in
class on March 19. Please see the assignment sheet posted on Blackboard for more details.
Academic Integrity: Violations of academic integrity are serious academic offenses that will not be
tolerated in this class. I expect every student to review the guidelines and list of violations at
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu and to abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy. When
you use sources such as books, web pages, articles, or primary documents in your writing, you must
identify them to your reader. If you quote a source directly, you must put the borrowed material in
quotation marks and include a proper citation. If you take an idea from another source but put it in
your own words (i.e. paraphrase it), you must still give proper credit to the source. Please use MLA
or Chicago style documentation to document any sources used in written work. All suspected
violations of the academic integrity policy will be reported to the Dean of Students, and proven
violations will result in serious repercussions. Because this is an advanced seminar, a single
ENG 531 Syllabus: Spring, 2015- 5
violation of academic integrity will result in failure of the entire course. Repeated offenses can
cause you to be expelled from the University. If you are unsure about how to give credit to your
sources or have any questions about what constitutes an act of plagiarism, please ask me!
Technology:
E-mail: Email is the fastest way to contact me, and I will occasionally use e-mail to contact you.
All messages will be sent to UNCG email accounts, so you need to check your UNCG account
regularly. You are required to hand in paper copies of all written work; I will not accept assignments
handed in via email.
Blackboard: I have set up a Blackboard website for the course where you can find copies of the
syllabus, readings, assignments, announcements, and useful links. Please note that you are
responsible for printing out copies of all texts, handouts, and assignment sheets and bringing them
to class as needed. If you are absent, please check Blackboard for any updates or assignments you
may have missed.
Laptops and Cellphones: This is an interactive discussion class, and I expect your engaged
attention and participation. You may not use laptops in this class, except in documented cases of
medical need. Cellphones and other electronic equipment must be turned off at all times.