Kommentar |
This lecture will focus on the legacy of women’s life writings in North America, paying attention to the many forms of narratives of the self, such as memoirs, autobiographies, diaries, letters, religious records, travel logs, etc. which women relied on in order to express themselves and give voice to their manifold experiences. Arguing that women’s life writings offer a valuable window into the various cultural and historical communities in which these writers lived, this course will also show in which ways life writings help frame and negotiate assumptions about public and private spaces, domesticity, individualism, and community-building. Focusing on Indigenous writers, abolitionists, and suffragists, and leading up to contemporary women writers of distinct racial and ethnic backgrounds, we will examine how woman’s life writings engage, subvert, and resist ideas about gender, and its many intersections with race, sexuality, class, and disability.
Course Readings: There will be a course reader on Moodle. |