Required Texts:

The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women Vol 2. Eds. Gilbert and Gubar. 3rd Ed. Price: $62.50  ISBN 9780393930146

The Bell Jar, Author: Plath, Publisher: Harper Perennial, Price: $14.99   ISBN  9780060837020

Optional (reading it isn’t optional–an online version is available to print):

Intimate Apparel, Author: Nottage, Price: 8.00 USD  ISBN  9780822220091

Week 1 (1/28, 1/30): Frida Kahlo, “Love Embrace of the Universe, The Earth (Mexico), Diego, Me, and Señor Xolotl” 1949; Margaret Atwood, “There Was Once” 1992 (sign in to JSTOR using your library barcode number, which starts with 22477 on your City Tech ID

Week 2 (2/4, 2/6): Ann Charters, “Elements of Fiction”—including all the sub-pages identified on the left-side menu: “Plot,” “Character,” “Setting,” “Point of View,” “Style, Tone, and Language,” “Theme,” and “Symbolism, Allegory, and Image“; Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” 1894

Week 3 (2/11, 2/13): Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Cottagette” 1910 (scroll down a little bit to get to this story), “The Yellow Wall-Paper” and selections from Ch XIV of Women and Economics 1899

Week 4 (2/18, 2/25, 2/27): Virginia Woolf, selections from A Room of One’s Own 1929, especially from Chapter 1 and Chapter 3 (plus 212-216 in our textbook if you have it), and “Professions for Women” 1942 (244-247); Gertrude Stein, “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene” 1925, and audio of a reading of it; Mina Loy, “Feminist Manifesto” 1914 (255-257)

Week 5 (3/4, 3/6): Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel 2003 (available as an ebook via the CUNY+ library system. Find it by searching for the title in the Find Books tab. Of download the List of Characters, Act I, and Act II.

Week 6 (3/11, 3/13): Nella Larsen,  (in The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, volume 2, 360-399, through Ch. 11); an online version of Quicksand is available, but you’ll need toBRING YOUR TEXT BOOK TO CLASS;  Project #1 optional draft due

Week 7 (3/18, 3/20): Quicksand (399-443) BRING YOUR TEXT BOOK TO CLASS; Project #1 due

Week 8 (3/25, 3/27): Review for the midterm; Midterm Exam (proctored by Prof. Rebecca Devers)

Week 9 (4/1, 4/3): Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar:, (Ch 1-10).   Please purchase the edition ordered for this course. These electronic versions, online and .pdf are supplementary only!

Week 10 (4/8, 4/10): The Bell Jar, (Ch 11-20)

SPRING BREAK (4/15, 4/17, 4/22)

Week 11 (4/24): Final discussion of The Bell Jar

Week 12 (4/29, 5/1): Toni Morrison, “Recitatif” (994-1009); Alice Walker, “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens” (1295-1303); Maxine Hong Kingston, “No Name Woman,” 1976 (1228-1237) (online look for just the first chapter); watch selections “Threads” from “Crafts in America” on PBS.org, specifically the sections on Faith Ringgold (1:00-15:00) and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood (26:20-39:12); Project #2 due unless you have met with me to review your Project #2 work

Week 13 (5/6, 5/8): Zadie Smith, “Scenes from the Smith Family Christmas” and photograph; Jamaica Kincaid, “Biography of a Dress” and listen to her read the story; Cynthia Ozick, “The Shawl”; Louise Erdrich, “The Shawl”; Project #2 due 5/6

Week 14 (5/13, 5/15): Sandra Cisneros, “Woman Hollering Creek,” 1991 (1399-1408); Jenny Boully, “A Short Essay on Being,” 2010; Zohra Saed, “What the Scar Revealed” (and the others on that page if you’re interested!); Video Presentation due 5/16

Week 15 (5/20, 5/22): Review for the final; Final Exam