Carleton University Department of English, Winter 2014 ENGL 2108A – Women and Literature Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:00-11:30 a.m. Location: TBA (Please confirm on Carleton Central) Dr. Barbara S. Bruce Phone: (613) 520-2600 ext. 2320 Office: 1913 Dunton Tower Email: [email protected] Office Hours: tba Course Description This course will examine a wide range of contemporary Canadian literature written in English by women writers of diverse backgrounds. We will closely read works of poetry and prose (novels, short stories, critical essays), paying attention to form/genre and cultural/historical contexts and examining the themes and issues raised by the texts under study: patriarchal oppression, domesticity (marriage, pregnancy, the family, motherhood, space), gender, sexuality, sex, the body, suicide, abuse and violence, language, art, resistance, and empowerment. We will also consider such questions as: How are women represented in the texts? How has feminist criticism impacted on literature and literary analysis? How has women’s writing in Canada evolved in the feminist and post-feminist eras of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries? Please note that English 2108 is a writing attentive course. In English 2108, “writing attentive” means the following: - students will write at least one examination, as well as a number of formal essays in which they are expected to do the following: develop a thesis statement across each essay; develop complex ideas using correct and effective expression, according to academic English practice; develop literary reading skills through close analysis; use and cite evidence from primary texts appropriately; develop secondary research and citation skills; a portion of class time will be devoted to developing an improving essay writing skills and research essay skills. Authors May Include Margaret Atwood, Anita Rau Badami, Himani Bannerji, Judy Fong Bates, Dionne Brand, Margaret Laurence, Lisa Moore, Shani Mootoo, Alice Munro, Marlene Nourbese Philip, Eden Robinson, Madeleine Thien, and Jane Urquhart. Assignments and Grade Distribution (tentative): Test 15% Essay 35% Participation (including reading quizzes) 15% Final Exam 35% .