Alyssa J. O’Brien
Department of English
Course Section 6: MWF 9:35-10:25
a.m. in ESM 404
Spring 2000
Office hours: Mon 10:30 am-12:00 pm
(in Java Joe’s)
Also by
appointment in Eastman Theatre 605
Humanities 102: Gender, Art, and Society:
Revised for After Spring Break (March
13-May 5, 2000)
The battle of the sexes has been an age-old theme in the art and literature of western society. Male and female artists alike have struggled with representations of themselves and each other in terms of social roles, sexuality, power in society, and artistic freedom. As we move beyond Shakespeare, we might wonder how the gender wars played out during the Enlightenment, the Romantic Period, the Victorian Age, the Modernist Era, and today in our contemporary moment. This course addresses these questions by considering a range of writings and visual images from Artemsia Gentileschi’s chilling painting of Judith and Her Maid with the Head of Holofernes (1625) to Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, The Hours (1998) – itself a contemporary rewriting of Virginia Woolf’s modern classic, Mrs. Dalloway (1925). The course
will pay particular attention to male and female artists in conversation and competition with each other and with their predecessors. We’ll trace the changes in gender, art, and society by examining poetry, drama, novels, political tracts, and painting from the last three hundred years.
Course Requirements
for Part II of the course (after Spring Break):
Absences and lateness are becoming a problem in this class. From now on, 3 lates = 1 absence. Remember, you are allowed three absences for the entire semester, after which time your final grade will drop one full letter grade per class missed. Participation = bring your text to class. If you don’t have a copy of the assigned reading with you, you will get a zero for the day (equivalent to an absence).
We will make writing responses more fun for the second half. Instead of one or two in-class surprises responses per week, you will now be required to bring in a one-page TYPED response to the reading on the dates indicated below (R). The responses can be critical or personal reactions, creative imitations or rewritings, or comparisons of the reading with texts we have discussed. You can also consider the relevance of the material to your life and profession or to current world events. The response should prove that you have done the reading and reflected upon it. The responses will provide starting points for discussion. I will collect them at the end of class and grade them for familiarity with the assigned readings. If you are absent, have someone bring your response to class or drop it in my mailbox outside ET 605.
Group Presentations
on material from Western Civilizations textbook and website: 10%
The presentations worked so well last time around that we will continue them for the second half. Your group should both read the textbook and explore the web to find interesting material to present to the class. You may need to do extra research for certain topics. Each group will have 20 minutes this time. Handouts are welcome. Be creative: make analogies to music, do a skit, wear costumes, bring in props, do whatever you feel will make your presentation a more effective report on the material. Click here to go to the web site: http://www.wwnorton.com/wciv
Paper 3 = significant revision of paper 1 (grade for paper 3 replaces original grade on paper 1).
Hand in anytime up until Friday, March 24 (no papers accepted past this date)
Paper 4 = creative paper plus analysis (I will distribute a list of potential topics by March 20.)
Topics due: Mon April
17. Draft due: Mon April 24;
revision due: Friday April 28
(Note: no papers accepted past April 28 since that is the last day of class).
The draft and final of each paper will be graded as a composite unit (judged for argument, evidence, structure, style, polish or proofreading, and amount of revision). Please feel free to discuss paper topics and drafts with me well in advance of due dates. For extra help with papers, visit the Writing and Study Skills Center, B07A in basement of SLC.
Paper 4 will be reviewed in class through small writing groups. Your active reading and response to each other’s papers is crucial to make this process beneficial for everyone involved. Read the papers carefully and come in with specific, constructive feedback to help the writer improve his or her paper. Make notes on each paper and write a short summary on the last page with your comments and suggestions. Click here to see further information on writing groups.
Writing group for paper 4: Wednesday, April 26
Final Exam: 10%
There will be one cumulative exam on the material covered throughout the course (date TBA by registrar). This includes material from the Western Civilization book, even if we do not discuss it in class. Click here to see a list of potential exam questions.
You might prepare for the final exam by keeping a reading
journal of the texts for the class.
Suggestions for the journal: contextualize each reading through help of
the Western Civilization book, compare the reading to previous readings,
raise a series of questions about the work, reflect on class discussions. Think of the journal as a reading log as
well as a starting point for more thorough treatment of ideas in a paper. You may submit this journal on the last
day of class for up to 5% extra credit.
Required Texts:
Diane Hacker, Pocket
Manual of Style or Anne Raimes,
Pocket Keys for Writers
Robert Lerner, ed. Western Civilizations, Vol. II, 13th edition (also the online supplement http://www.wwnorton.com/wciv)
Aphra Behn, The Rover
Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock
Kate Chopin, The Awakening
Virginia Woolf, Mrs.
Dalloway
Michael Cunningham, The Hours
Poetry and Prose packet
Various handouts from class
17TH-CENTURY AND
18TH-CENTURY LITERATURE
Week 1:
Art After Shakespeare: Recognizing Genius, Preserving Artistry
This week in Western Civ: chapter 15 (esp.
530-546)
Mon Jan.10 Introduction
Wed Jan 12 Slide Show: 17th-18th century art
Fri Jan 14 John Donne, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (1633)
John Milton, “How Soon Hath Time” (1645)
Andrew Marvel, “To His Coy Mistress” (1681)
Week 2:
Society, Manners, and Making a Living through Art
This week in Western Civ: chapters 16-17
Mon Jan 17 Aphra Behn, The Rover (1677)
Wed Jan 19 Aphra Behn, The Rover
Fri Jan 21
Aphra Behn, The Rover
Slide Show: 18th century art (revisited)
This week in Western Civ: chapter 18 (esp. 635-671)
Mon Jan 24 Alexander Pope,
The Rape of the Lock (1714)
Wed Jan 26 Alexander Pope,
The Rape of the Lock
Due: Paper
topics
Fri Jan 28 Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock
Week 4:
The Rights of Man and Woman
This week in Western Civ: chapter 19 (esp. 686-696; 717-721)
Mon Jan 31 Due: Paper 1
Draft (4 copies)
Wed Feb 2 In-class writing groups: thesis exercise
Pocket Style Manual, selections
Fri Feb 4
Due: Paper 1 Final
Slide show: early 19th c: Revolution and Romanticism
19TH-CENTURY LITERATURE
Mon Feb 7 Wordsworth
handout: including “We Are Seven,” “Tintern
Abbey,”
and
“Preface to Lyrical Ballads” (1798-1802)
Wed Feb 9 Coleridge
handout: “The Eolian Harp” (1796)
Fri Feb 11
Discuss Western
Civ: chapters 20, 23 (esp.
814-820), web links
Presentations 1-3
Week 6:
The Victorians and “The Woman Question”
Mon Feb 14 Slide Show: Mid to late 19th century
art
Discuss Western
Civ: chapters 21 (esp. 757-781),
22, web links
Presentations 4-5
Wed Feb 16 Tennyson: “The Lady of Shalott” (1832, 1842)
Dante Gabriel Rossetti: “Found” (1881)
Christina Rossetti: “In an Artist’s Studio” (1861)
Fri Feb 18 Class cancelled; work on Paper 2
Week 7: Closing of the Nineteenth Century
Mon Feb 21 Presentation 6
Continue
Tennyson, Rossetti’s
Wed Feb 23 Due: Paper 2 Draft
(4 copies)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning: “Curse for a Nation” (1860)
Fri Feb 25 In-class writing groups: citation integration exercise
Pocket Style Manual, selections
Week 8: Moving into Modernism
Mon Feb 28 Due: Paper 2 Final
Slideshow, early 20th c Art Part I
Matthew Arnold, “Dover Beach” (1867)
Wed March 1 Slideshow, early 20th c Art Part II
Walter Pater, “Conclusion” to The Renaissance (1868, 1873)
Fri March 3 No class – Enjoy
your break!
Week 9: Spring Break, No Classes!
20TH-CENTURY LITERATURE
Week 10: Initiating a New Century of Struggle
Mon Mar 13 Kate Chopin, The Awakening (1899) (R) due
Wed Mar 15 Kate Chopin, The Awakening
Fri Mar 17 Class Debate on The Awakening
Week 11:
Capturing Modernity in New Forms
Mon Mar 20 Discuss Western Civ: chapters 25 (esp. 886-907), web links (R) due
Presentation 1-2 (Developments in Science and Philosophy;
Changes in the Arts: Art, Literature, and Music)
Wed Mar 22
Discuss Western Civ: chapter 26 (esp. 920-924; 937-938), 27, web
links (R due)
Presentations 3-4 (Women’s Suffrage
Movements: violent tactics and victory;
The causes and conditions of World War I)
Fri Mar 24 Discuss Western Civ: chapter 27, 28 (esp. 1004-1017), web links
(R due)
Presentation 5-6 (Churning World Politics: Bolsheviks, Fascists, and
Nazis;
Philosophy, Science and Art between World
Wars)
Due:
Paper 3 Final (Revision of Paper 1)
Week 12: New Artist Figures, New Forms for Fiction
Mon Mar 27 Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway (1925) (R due)
Wed Mar 29 Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway
Fri Mar 31 Class Debate on Mrs. Dalloway
Week 13:
Revising Art: Men Remake Woolf
Mon Apr 3 Discuss Western Civ: chapters 30 (esp. 1064-1072), 31 (R) due
Presentation 7 (Art and Literature Reflecting Global Changes)
Slide Show: late 20th century art
Wed Apr 5 Robin Lippincott, Mr. Dalloway (class handout, 3-47) (R) due
Fri Apr 7
Michael Cunningham, The Hours,
“Prologue” (3-8) (R) due
Week 14: Jury
Examinations, No Classes
Week 15:
Contemporary Engagements and Revisions
Mon Apr 17 Michael Cunningham, The Hours (9-48) (R) due
Wed Apr 19 Michael Cunningham, The Hours (49-112)
Fri Apr 21
Michael Cunningham, The Hours
(113-172)
Week 16: Final
Considerations
Mon Apr 24 Due: Paper 4 Draft
(3 copies)
Michael
Cunningham, The Hours (173-230) (R) due
Wed Apr 26 Discuss Western Civ: chapter 32 (esp. 1116-1121)
In-class writing groups
Fri Apr 28 Due: Paper 4 Final
Class celebration!
Last day to hand in extra credit Reading Journal (for up to 5% extra credit)
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This Page Last Updated 2/27/00 (aob) revised for links july 2003