The selected topic of this term is “Women's Writing: Madness, maternity and myth in Literature.” The
course pursues women’s sexual & gender identity, visual & literary self-expression, through themes of madness, maternity & myth, in theoretical & literary writings.
Prerequisite(s)
None
Corequisite(s)
None
Special Requisite(s)
None
Instructor(s)
Assoc. Prof. Gillian Alban
Course Assistant(s)
-
Schedule
Tuesday 12.00 - 15.00
Office Hour(s)
Wednesday 11.00 - 13.00
Teaching Methods and Techniques
Lecture, discussion, presentation.
Principle Sources
Novels: Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse; Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar; Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea; Toni Morrison, Beloved; Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’sTale; Angela Carter, The Passion of NewEve; A. S. Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale Additional literature: V. Woolf, A Room of One’s Own; A. Carter, The Bloody Chamber (selected tales) & The Sadeian Woman; N. Wolf, The Beauty Myth; S. Glaspell’s “Trifles;” Kingston, “No Name Woman;” Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”
Other Sources
Virginia Woolf, “Professions for Women;” Joanna Russ, “Anomalousness” & “Aesthetics;” Gilbert & Gubar, from The Madwoman in the Attic; Naomi Wolf, from The Beauty Myth;Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own; Annette Kolodny, “Dancing through the Minefield;” Helene Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa;” Adrienne Rich, “Compulsory Heterosexuality;” Judith Butler, from Gender Trouble;” Luce Irigaray, “This Sex which is Not One” and “Another Cause, Castration,” from Speculum Helene Cixous, “Sorties” Gillian Alban, “The Self in the Petrifying Gaze of the Other,” from The Medusa Gaze; Laura Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure & Narrative Cinema;” Bracha Ettinger, “Fascinance and the Girl-to-m/Other Matrixial Feminine Difference;” Barbara Creed, from The Monstrous Feminine; Angela Carter, The Sadeian Woman; Shoshana Felman, “Women and Madness;” Nina Baym, “Madwomen and her Languages; Gayatri Spivak, “Three Texts;”Susan Friedman, “Creativity and Childbirth Metaphor;”Luce Irigaray, “Body Vs Body;”Luce Irigaray, “Divine Women;” Miriam R. Dexter, from Whence the Goddesses;Riane Eisler, from The Chalice and the Blade
Course Schedules
Week
Contents
Learning Methods
1. Week
Introduction to Women’s Writing: Madness, Mother and Myth, & distribution of assignments.
Virginia Woolf, “Professions for Women;” Joanna Russ, “Anomalousness” & “Aesthetics;” Gilbert & Gubar, from The Madwoman in the Attic; Naomi Wolf, from The Beauty Myth; preliminary discussion
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
2. Week
V. Woolf, A Room of One’s Own; A. Kolodny, “Dancing through the Minefield;” H. Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa;” Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
3. Week
A. Rich, “Compulsory Heterosexuality;” J. Butler, from Gender Trouble;” L. Irigaray, “This Sex which is Not One” and “Another Cause, Castration,” from Speculum Helene Cixous, “Sorties”
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
4. Week
G. Alban, “The Self in the Petrifying Gaze of the Other,” from The Medusa Gaze; L. Mulvey, “Visual Pleasure & Narrative Cinema;” S. Plath, The Bell Jar
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
5. Week
B. Ettinger, “Fascinance and the Girl-to-m/Other Matrixial Feminine Difference;” B. Creed, from The Monstrous Feminine; A. Carter, The Sadeian Woman
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
6. Week
S. Felman, “Women and Madness;” N. Baym, “Madwomen and her Languages;” J. Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
7. Week
A. Carter, The Passion of New Eve and The Bloody Chamber, selected tales
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
8. Week
G. Spivak, “Three Texts;” V. Woolf, To the Lighthouse
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
9. Week
Written exam on theoretical and literary materials
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
10. Week
S. Friedman, “Creativity and Childbirth Metaphor;” M. Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
11. Week
L. Irigaray, “Body Vs Body;” C.P. Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper;” S. Glaspell, “Trifles”
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
12. Week
R. Eisler, from The Chalice and the Blade; Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye; Kingston, “No Name Woman”
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
13. Week
L. Irigaray, “Divine Women;” M. R. Dexter, from Whence the Goddesses
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
14. Week
Revision of seminar, literary papers, to be submitted as final papers
Reading, criticism, oral presentation, paper
15. Week
Study Week
16. Week
Study Week
17. Week
Final Exams Week
Assessments
Evaluation tools
Quantity
Weight(%)
Homework / Term Projects / Presentations
3
30
Final Exam
1
40
Program Outcomes
PO-1
Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of literary texts, authors, genres and movements.
PO-2
Display a thorough understanding of literary research methodology and different critical approaches to literature.
PO-3
Analyze texts from different theoretical perspectives.
PO-4
Develop a critical understanding of literature.
PO-5
Know how to conduct independent research in English studies.
PO-6
Articulate and share interpretation of texts and contexts in carefully constructed
arguments.
PO-7
Apply precise critical terminology in the presentation of analysis and research.
PO-8
Engage in scholarly debates about their academic subjects.
PO-9
Critically examine and use the latest research materials in their academic discipline.
PO-10
Identify the ways both explicit and implicit cultural norms and assumptions affect perceptions and judgements.
PO-11
Recognize the interdisciplinary aspects of English Studies and its complex relationship with other disciplines and forms of knowledge.
PO-12
Develop a capacity to pursue academic studies at the doctoral level.
Learning Outcomes
LO-1
Students will develop a critical understanding of the use of non-realistic elements in
literature
LO-2
Identify the ways cultural norms and assumptions affect our understanding and
response
LO-3
Assess the place of the selected texts in literary history
LO-4
Analyze the selected texts from theoretical perspectives.
