ENGL 360K-0101 Gender and Literature; Or

“You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Wo(Man)”

MTWTHF 1:00-3:10 HEAV 102

Professor Blackmon

HEAV 301C, Tel: 49-48122 Office hrs: TWR 3:30-4:30 and by appointment
sblackmon@cla.purdue.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to feminist approaches to the study of literature, including short fiction, novels, satire, and autobiography. This class examines how gender intersects with sex, class, and sexual orientation in shaping authorship, reading, and representation.

REQUIRED TEXTS (Available at Von’s Books)

· Charlotte Perkins Gilman Herland

· Gerd Brantenberg Egalia’s Daughters

· Jeanette Winterson Written on the Body

· Kate Bornstein Gender Outlaw

· Judith Butler Gender Trouble (recommended)

· Course Pack (Available at CopyMat in Chauncey Hill Mall)

COURSE EXPECTATIONS/PARTICIPATION

In order to accomplish the course goals, you must come to each class prepared. This means coming to class on time, as well as completing your readings and outside assignments. Active and informed participation in class discussions and collaborative work is also crucial. In terms of writing assignments, you will be required to complete three 2-3 page reading response/reaction assignments (three at 10 points each), a reading journal (20 points), a final presentation of your semester’s analysis (10 points), and one in-depth analytical paper of 5-7 pages (20 points). Regular quizzes will be given to test the preparedness of the class as a whole, these quizzes will be used as class attendance (in other words if you are unprepared you are absent) and will be calculated under the heading of participation (20 points).

Assignment	Number	Point Allocation	Total points per category
Response Assignments	3	10	30
Reading Journal	1	20	20
Final Essay	1	20	20
Participation	1	20	20
Presentation	1	10	10
Course Total:			100 points

Grading Scale

Your points will be translated into percentages; your final grade will be calculated according to the following percentage scale:

100-90	A
89-80	B
79-70	C
69-60	D
59-below	F

Although such instances are rare, I reserve the right to reward students who have shown dramatic progress with higher grades than the scale suggests.

Note about Incompletes: The mark of ‘I’ is inappropriate if, in the instructor’s judgment, it will be necessary for the student regularly to attend subsequent sessions of the class. I will give an Incomplete only in cases of extreme emergency.

JOURNALS

It is expected that you will read carefully and critically, take notes in your journal, jot down questions, and bring all required materials to class each day. Your journal will be a place for your observations and growth as an analytical reader and writer. Summaries of the novels and/or essays do not constitute acceptable journal entries. Your daily journal entries should be two (2) double-spaced handwritten or one (1) double-spaced word-processed page. Feel free to use your journal to take notes, outline a future paper topic, rage against an idea, etc. As it would benefit you to have your thoughts accessible to you at all times, you should bring your journal to class everyday. Journals will collected at the professor’s discretion.

Class Participation & Assignments

This is one of the most important components to the success of the course. All reading and outside assignments are to be completed prior to class. This means reading carefully and critically, bringing materials to class, and coming prepared to engage with the ideas and your class. Class investigations are participatory assignments that may include critical and active discussions as well as in-class collaborative work.

Attendance

Attendance is welcomed, expected, and mandatory. To best utilize our time, come to class on time. You are considered absent if 1) you are more than 15 minutes late and/or 2) you are unprepared for class. There will be regular in-class work to record your attendance and preparation for class. You may miss two sessions without penalty. For every class after the first two, I will lower your final grade by five percent. After two absences you must attend a conference with me to discuss whether you should continue in this course. Five absences constitute automatic failure of the course.

Writing Deadlines & Submissions

You are expected to submit assignments by the deadlines listed. All written work is due at the beginning of class unless otherwise noted. In order to be considered for a grade, all assignments are to be complete, of the minimum word count, and must conform to MLA documentation and format (word-processed, 12 point legible font, double-spacing, with one inch margins). No out of class papers will be accepted if they are handwritten and all assignments must be accompanied by your computer diskette. Late assignments will only be accepted with the specific, prior agreement of the instructor. No exceptions!!!

Conferences & Contact

I am open to discussing matters pertaining to the course, readings, and your writing; please feel free to contact me via email or phone as well as in person. I hope you will also take advantage of my office hours and email.

PLAGIARISM

Cheating: All written work submitted for a grade in this course must be the product of your own composition. Ideas generated due to reading and group discussion may provide the inspiration for your work, but should not be the sole ideas represented. With collaborative projects, of course, ideas should be representative of the group’s work.

Plagiarism is the act of presenting as your own work another individual’s ideas, words, data, or research material. The concept applies equally to written, spoken, or electronic texts, published or unpublished. All ideas and quotations that you borrow from any source must be acknowledged: at a minimum, you should give the name of your author, the title of the text cited, and the page number(s) of the citation. The only exceptions to this requirement would involve what is familiar and commonly held (e.g. the fact that the earth is round). You should know that penalties for plagiarism are severe and can entail suspension from the University. Students are responsible for reading and understanding the University policy on Cheating and Plagiarism set forth in Purdue University’s Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students available at http://www.purdue.edu/odos/admin/bacinteg.htm.

CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR

Insults, slurs, or attacks of any kind will not be allowed in my class. Any student who engages in this type of behavior in the classroom will be permanently removed from the class. In other words, forced to drop the course, in addition to other possible punishment given by Purdue University (See the Purdue University Student Code of Conduct (Available at http://www.purdue.edu/odos/admin/ccode.htm). In order to have an effective teaching and learning environment we must practice both respect and tolerance, without question.

As we will be discussing subjects that will be controversial, to some students, all remarks made in class must be based solely on fact. Personal opinion and theological beliefs should not be brought into class discussions unless they are specifically requested. Please be advised that we will be reading about, discussing, and writing about issues of class, gender, sexual orientation, etc. if you have personal or theological beliefs that may hinder your discussion and/or participation please let me know ASAP so that we can discuss your options.

THE WRITING LAB

The Writing Lab (Heavilon 226) is a superb resource.  The staff are willing to help no matter what stage you're at in your paper, from brainstorming to putting on the final touches.  Since writing a good paper entails having other people looking at it and giving you feedback, visits to the Writing Lab are highly recommended.

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I have read and agree to all of the policies laid out in the course syllabus for ENGL 360K (Maymester 2001) at Purdue University.

______________________________________ ________________________

Student Signature Date
COURSE SCHEDULE

Date	Assignment (to be read on the evening of the date listed)	Description (of the activities for the date listed)
Week One
5/14	Freud from CP and Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper	Introduction. Overview of the course
5/15	Gilman Herland pp. 1-61 and Brown from CP	Discuss Freud and Gilman
5/16	Gilman Herland pp. 62-124	Discuss Gilman
5/17	Brantenberg 9-61 and Butler’s “Arguing With the Real” from CP	Discuss Gilman
5/18		Reading Day- No Class
Week Two
5/21	Brantenberg 62-120	Discuss Brantenberg; Response 1 Due
5/22	Brantenberg 121-179 and “Bodily Inscriptions, Performative Subversions” from CP	Discuss Brantenberg
5/23	Brantenberg 180-230	Discuss Brantenberg
5/24	Brantenberg 231-269	Discuss Brantenberg
5/25		Discuss Brantenberg; Response 2 Due
Week Three
5/28	Winterson 1-48 and “Pronouns, Politics, and Femme Practice” from CP	Memorial Day Holiday- No Classes
5/29	Winterson 49-96	Discuss Winterson
5/30	Winterson 97-145	Discuss Winterson
5/31	Winterson 146-190	Discuss Winterson
6/1	Bornstein 1-53 and Butler’s “Gender is Burning” from CP	Discuss Winterson; Response 3 Due
Week Four
6/4	Bornstein 54-99 and Butler’s “Imitation and Gender Insubordination” from CP	Discuss Bornstein
6/5	Bornstein 100-145	Discuss Bornstein
6/6	Bornstein 146-249	Discuss Bornstein
6/7		Discuss Bornstein
6/8		Final Paper Due; Last Day of Classes

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