WGSS 412
Feminist and Queer Interventions in Literary Theory Spring 2015
Division II
Cross-listed COMP 412 / ENGL 412
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

Feminist scholars have worked, with increasing success from the 1960s onward, to shed light on previously unrecognized women writers and situate gender and sexuality at the center of the study of literature. Building on this foundation, we will investigate the profound methodological impact of feminist and queer literary criticism. We will examine the ways in which such scholarship has not only challenged the neglect of gender and sexuality but also generated new theoretical frameworks and approaches to interpretation. Our investigation will be guided by questions such as: What is the relationship between feminist and queer theories and other interpretive approaches such as new criticism, poststructuralism, psychoanalysis, critical race theory, new historicism, and postcolonial theory? In what ways do feminist and queer theories differ and disagree about literary studies? What constitutes a feminist reading practice or queer method of interpretation? Our discussions will explore the historically contingent, varied, and contested nature of feminist and queer criticism, and what becomes possible (or impossible) when thinking and reading within these frameworks.
The Class: Format: seminar with elements of a colloquium, including independent research and some student-selected readings and discussion topics
Limit: 15
Expected: 15
Class#: 3723
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: group discussion facilitation; 5-page essay; 12- to 15-page final paper, with oral presentation
Prerequisites: a 300-level English course, or instructor permission
Enrollment Preferences: English and/or WGSS majors
Distributions: Division II
Notes: meets Division 1 requirement if registration is under ENGL or COMP; meets Division 2 requirement if registration is under WGSS
This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
COMP 412 Division I ENGL 412 Division I WGSS 412 Division II
Attributes: ENGL Criticism Courses
WGSS Theory Courses

Class Grid

Course Catalog Archive Search

TERM/YEAR
TEACHING MODE
SUBJECT
DIVISION



DISTRIBUTION



ENROLLMENT LIMIT
COURSE TYPE
Start Time
End Time
Day(s)