Department of English

This course examines a 40-year period in literary publications through the lens of female writers and their fiction, including Edith Wharton, Henry Handel Richardson, Ellen Glasgow, Willa Cather, Colette, Dorothy Richardson, May Sinclair, Virginia Woolf, and Isak Dinesen.  Carolyn Heilbrun has argued that historically "women have been deprived of the narratives, or the texts, plots, or examples, by which they might assume power over--take control of--their own lives". By analyzing the works of these artistically powerful women, the class will consider to what extent these authors created or failed to create new narratives and to what degree their writings demonstrate the assertation, denial or subversion of power.  We will also cnsider the appropriation of 4 texts by the motion picture industry: Wharton's *The Age of Innocence*, Colette's *Gigi*, Henry Handel Richardson's *The Getting of Wisdom* (titled *My Brilliant Career* in
the film), and Dinesen's Out of Africa.  Course requirements include a weekly journal reflecting the assigned reading or videotape viewing, a mid-term paper (ca. 8 pages), and a final paper (ca. 15 pages).