ENGL/WGSS 3995: Intersectional Feminisms

Course Description

In this course, we will explore a variety of feminist approaches to the study of language, literature, and culture, prioritizing inclusive and intersectional perspectives and analyzing the ways such thinking shapes modern and contemporary texts. Examining a mix of critical, literary, and pop cultural works (some “high” and “low” theory) from a diverse set of feminist and women writers and theorists, we will, in turn, consider how feminist thinking, scholarship, creative activity, and experimentation influence people’s social, emotional, and professional lives, their politics and activism, and their visions of the future.

The global history of feminist thought is vibrant and expansive, which means that our coverage of this field will be nowhere near comprehensive. Our class will operate as a community of scholars, in which students are invited to think broadly about what constitutes a “text” worthy of study and to raise, research, and produce work on topics beyond those which fall under my areas of expertise or those we cover in class. Many of the texts we will read in this course will be dense, difficult, or formally experimental and will require your patience. Likewise, they may be challenging in other ways–exploring tense and timely issues and sensitive subject matter, such as reproductive freedom, domestic violence, and the particular forms of oppression that target women of color, trans women, or women living in poverty, for example. We will need to be able to trust, respect, and support one another to have the hard and necessary conversations these texts demand of us. In return for our labors, our reading and research and the community we build in this course should offer moments of true insight, paths toward meaningful connection, and opportunities for great joy and celebration.

ENGL/WGSS 3995 Syllabus Fall 2022