E 353-111 W 11-11:50, F 11-12:40, N-687
“Women in Literature”
Dr. Rochelle Rives
Office: S767, 212-220-8000, ex 7480
Office Hours: W 12-2, TU 2-3, and by appointment
[email protected]
OVERVIEW:
In this course, we will examine the meaning and usefulness of “women’s experience” as
a category in different literary texts as we question the meaning of this term and the
essential connection it presumes between women in general. We will engage with a
variety of themes that cut across a wide period of time and a broad geography of place,
including the issues of women’s education and development, motherhood, kinship, race,
class, and sexuality. Of particular focus in this course is how women “come of age,”
develop from girl to womanhood, under different social, geographical, and historical
circumstances. Additionally, we will also look at how women writing literature were
able to challenge, and often change, literary conventions and forms, even as they were
excluded from what we now term the literary cannon. This course is also writing
intensive. We will sharpen our ability to organize and develop ideas in coherent,
interesting, effective critical essays while learning how to evaluate literary texts and
increasing our critical acumen. Although our primary focus is not necessarily grammar
or mechanics, those skills will still be important as we learn to generate substantial,
arguable and complex ideas in our writing and class discussion. I also hope to have fun
in the course!
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, students will:
 Be familiar with significant themes in women’s literature
 Be familiar with various genres involved in women’s literature
 Be able to understand and employ in writing a specific vocabulary that applies to
women’s literature
 Be able to use newly learned vocabulary in developing rubrics that clarify the
problematics of women’s literature
 Be able to write clear, coherent argumentative and properly documented essays on
the subject of women’s literature
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
 Attendance is mandatory. See policy below.
 You should come to class having read any assigned material carefully.
Discussion is a crucial aspect of learning in this course, and I assume that students
who participate in class discussion have prepared more diligently for class than
those who sit silently. Quizzes may be given over the day’s reading assignment.
We will write in class frequently.
 This class is writing intensive. You must complete two formal papers of varying
lengths and submit weekly one-page written responses to the readings, due each
Friday. You must also complete a research assignment and brief oral

presentation, which I will explain in more detail. All writing should be typed,
double-spaced, proofread, and stapled. Please include your name, course section,
my name, and date of submission on the paper. ALL WRITTEN WORK
MUST BE SUBMITTED IN ORDER TO PASS THE CLASS. LATE
PAPERS WILL BE PENALIZED 1/3 LETTER GRADE FOR EACH DAY
THEY ARE LATE.
The syllabus is a written contract between you (the student) and me (the
professor). Your responsibility in this contract is to read the syllabus and stay
informed about relevant assignments, policies, and due dates.
ABSENCES, LATENESS, AND CLASSROOM CONDUCT:
Absence is excused for compelling reasons: illness (with a doctor’s note); observance of
religious holidays; serious personal crisis. At BMCC, the maximum number of absences
is limited to one more hour than the hours a class meets in one week. In this three hour
class, you are permitted 4 hours of absence. More than four unexcused absences will
result in failure of the course. Three or more unexcused absences will seriously affect
your final grade, as will chronic lateness. Three tardies count as one absence. If at all
possible, please avoid scheduling doctor’s appointments during class time. Cell phones
must be turned off during class time. You will be asked to leave and counted absent
if your phone rings in class. You will also be counted absent if you feel you must
leave the room to answer your phone. Ipods and other devices should be turned off
before entering the classroom. Do not plan to leave the classroom during class unless
you are seriously ill. Food and drink are permitted only if they do not disrupt the class
and if you dispose of them afterwards. If you know in advance you must miss class,
please contact me. If you miss class, unexpectedly, you may contact me via email or ask
another student what you have missed. Quizzes and in-class writing cannot be made up.
Students will receive a grade of “F” on these assignments if the absence is not excused. I
will not reteach a missed class.
GRADING AND EVALUATION OF STUDENTS:
Paper #1
Final Paper
Research assignment
Weekly reading responses, due each Friday
In-class writing and quizzes
Attendance and Participation
20%
25%
15%
25%
5%
10%
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Books will be available at the BMCC bookstore. I will distribute all other readings to the
class in advance of our class discussion.
Antigone, Sophocles
Medea, Euripedes
A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf
The Mill on the Floss, George Eliot
Passing, Nella Larson
Yonandio, Tillie Olson
Nervous Conditions, Tsi Tsi Dangarembqwa
Housekeeping, Marilyn Robinson
Please buy the editions I have selected, even if you buy them through another bookstore
or internet site, so that we can all literally be “on the same page” in class discussions. All
other readings that appear on the course syllabus will be provided by me via photocopy.
A NOTE ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Plagiarism and other forms of scholastic dishonesty will not be tolerated. You are
responsible for knowing what constitutes academic dishonesty and for avoiding any
instances of it. Failure to do so will result in failure of the course and in being reported
to the dean of students. I am serious about this. Someone fails the course every semester
because of plagiarism. We will spend time in class discussing what plagiarism is. I do
not hesitate to fail and report students who plagiarize or turn in work that is not their own.
BMCC POLICY ON PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
STATEMENT:
Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words, or artistic, scientific, or
technical work as one’s own creation. Using the idea or work of another is permissible
only when the original is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct
quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or
unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of
responsibility for plagiarism. Students who are unsure of how and when to provide
documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The library has guides
designed to help students to indentify appropriately cited work. The full policy can be
found on BMCC’s website, www.bmcc.cuny.edu. For further information on integrity
and behavior, please consult the college bulletin, also available online.
ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENTS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic
adjustments for this course must contact the Office of Services for Students with
Disabilities. BMCC is committed to providing equal access to all programs and curricula
to all students.
The following is a tentative schedule of readings and due dates for the course. I will give
specific assignments at the end of each class. All readings should be completed for the
day they appear on the syllabus. I will distribute readings marked by an asterisk* in
class.
What is a Woman?: Kinship and the Law__________________________________
W 1/27discuss course policies; intro to Antigone and the Greeks
F 1/29 Antigone
W 2/4 Antigone
F 2/5 Medea
W 2/10 Medea
Women, Self-Development, and the Educational Ideal: The Female Bildungsroman
F 2/6 from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft*
W 2/11 The Mill on the Floss, excerpts from Franco Moretti*
F 2/13 The Mill on the Floss
W 2/18 The Mill on the Floss
F 2/20 The Mill on the Floss
Gender and Modernity____________________________________________________
W 2/25 A Room of One’s Own
F 2/27 A Room of One’s Own, poetry from Sappho, Emily Dickinson*; Paper # 1 Due
Constructing the Modern Woman: Vile Bodies_______________________________
W 3/4 readings from Freud*; Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper”*
F 3/6 Passing
W 3/11 Passing
F 3/13 Passing
Desire and the Working Class Woman_______________________________________
W 3/18 from Carolyn Kay Steedman, A Landscape for a Good Woman;* selected fairy
tales*
F 3/20 Yonandio
W 3/25 Yonandio
F 3/27 Class Cancelled
W 4/1 Yonandio
Dirt____________________________________________________________________
F 4/3 Housekeeping, Research Project Due
W 4/8-F 4/17 SPRING BREAK!
W 4/22 Housekeeping
F 4/24 Housekeeping
Developmental Ends: Coming of Age in Africa
_____________________
W 4/29 Nervous Conditions
F 5/1 Nervous Conditions
W 5/6 Nervous Conditions
F 5/8 Nervous Conditions
W 5/13 women’s poetry and catch up
F 5/15 Last Day of Classes, Final Paper Due