Losing It: Tales from Girlhood There are places like this everywhere, places you enter as a young girl from which you never return. -­‐Lousie Glück, “Averno” If, as Simone de Beauvoir has it, one is not born, but rather becomes a woman, what does this process of becoming entail? And how do societal expectations determine what it means to come “of age” for the young girl? In this course, we will examine works of literature, mythology, folklore, and film that depict the transition from girlhood into womanhood, paying particular attention to how differing backgrounds of race, class, sexuality, ability, and gender expression trouble a stable formula for becoming a woman. As we will find, female coming of age tales invoke a transformation that can be experienced as a loss or a death or an emergence—but one after which there is no return. We begin the course with three myths, as told by Ovid, that offer diverging paths for the transformation of the young girl. We continue with texts that explore the role of friendship, mirroring, and queer desire in influencing who a girl will become. We then turn to readings that examine how love, seduction, and violence forge young women. Along the way, we consider works in which the physical and psychological changes involved in coming of age are allegorized and propose alternate routes towards becoming: becoming a witch, becoming a tree, becoming a mermaid, and finally, the choice between becoming a wife or becoming notorious. We conclude by writing our own narratives, personal or fantastic, about this peculiar, gendered form of becoming. Learning Goals: In this course, we will 1.) build critical thinking and writing skills by cultivating our ability to close read; 2.) develop fluency in theories of gender and sexuality; 2.) enhance our aesthetic sensibility and creative faculties; and 3.) broaden the discourse of global feminism by attending to differences in our conceptions of girl-­‐ and womanhood Papers: You will be assigned two short papers (3-­‐4 pages) and a final essay or creative work (10-­‐15 pages). The final paper is due on the last day of class. Papers should be your own impressions and opinions on the text, not summaries. All papers should be printed out and turned in the morning of class. Do not email me papers. The final paper may or may not include outside sources. You must write about at least one text you have not yet discussed in a response paper or a presentation and at least one theoretical text. If you choose to do a creative work, you must first discuss your idea with me and turn in a short paper (5-­‐10 pages) explaining how your work relates to the class. A note on plagiarism: using someone else’s words without attributing or citing them is a serious offense that is, thankfully, easily avoided. We will discuss what counts as plagiarism and how to properly use citation. Discussion Guides: You will work in groups to give one 15-­‐20 minute presentation on the reading of the day. Discussion guides will focus on key passages in the text and lead the group in a close reading by asking questions. You must email me which passage you will discuss the night before class. Evaluations: Grades for the papers will be assigned based on the thoughtfulness of your comments, the clarity of your argument, and the quality of your writing. Class participation and attendance are mandatory and papers must be turned in on time. Unexcused absences and lateness will automatically lower your grade. If, for some reason, you cannot attend class or need an extension on a paper, please talk to me or email me ahead of time. I evaluate class participation based on quality over quantity. The breakdown for course grades is as follows: Class Participation 30%, Short Papers 30%, Presentation 15%, Final Paper 25%. Accessibility Needs:
Please inform me if you have a disability, illness, or other condition that might require modification of the course requirements or special attention. Tufts’ policy is as follows: “Tufts University values the diversity of our students, staff, and faculty, recognizing the important contribution each student makes to our unique community. Students with disabilities are assured that the Student Accessibility Services office will work with each student individually to ensure access to all aspects to student life. Tufts is committed to providing equal access and support to all students through the provision of reasonable accommodations so that each student may access their curricula and achieve their personal and academic potential. If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodations, please contact the Student Accessibility Services office at 617-­‐627-­‐4539, or through their email at [email protected], to make an appointment with the director to determine appropriate accommodations. Please be aware that accommodations cannot be enacted retroactively, making timeliness a critical aspect for their provision.” Required Texts: The following texts will be available at the Tufts Bookstore: Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend, Europa Editions Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, Penguin Classics Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, Norton Toni Morrison, Sula, Vintage Warsan Shire, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth, Mouthmark Additional materials, including essays, will be posted a week in advance on Trunk. Schedule: 1/25: Week One: Three Paths Ovid, The Metamorphoses, Daphne, Echo, Proserpina 2/1: Week Two: Theories of the Young Girl Jamaica Kincaid, “Girl,” 1978 Tiqqun, selections from Preliminary Materials for a Theory of the Young Girl, 2012 Simone de Beauvoir, selections from The Second Sex, 1949 Bikini Kill, “Rebel Girl,” 1993 2/8: Week Three: Friendship Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend, 2011 Valerie Popp, “A Report from the Field: A Working Class Academic on Loving Elena Ferrante,” in Vida, 2016 2/15: Week Four: School Daze Picnic at Hanging Rock, dir. Peter Weir, 1975 Zitkala-­‐Sa, selections from “The School Days of an Indian Girl,” 1900 2/22: Week Five: Poor, Obscure, Plain, and Little Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847 3/1: Week Six: Poor, Obscure, Plain, and Little, continued Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847 3/8: Week Seven: The Dark Continent Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966 Gayatri Spivak, “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism,” Critical Inquiry 12:1, 1985 3/15: Week Eight: Losing It Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” 1974 Robert Eggers, The Witch, 2016 Selections from Manifesta: young women, feminism, and the future, Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, 2000 Breanne Fahs, “Spitfire and Sass: Valerie Solanas’s ‘A Young Girl’s Primer’ and the Creative Possibilities of a Survival Self” Women’s Studies Quarterly, 2016 SPRING BREAK 3/29: Week Nine: Bad Girls Do It Well Bande de Filles, dir. Céline Sciamma, 2014 Shirin Neshat, Women Without Men, 2010 4/5: Week Ten: Fairy Tale Endings Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Mermaid,” 1837 Selections from Tatterhood: Feminist Folktales from around the World, 2016 Maxine Hong Kingston, selection from The Woman Warrior A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, dir. Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014 4/12: Week Eleven: One Is Not Born… Transparent, dir. Jill Soloway, Season 3 Episode 8, “If I Were a Bell,” 2016 Virginia Woolf, Orlando, 1928 4/19: Week Twelve: Growing Up Toni Morrison, Sula 1973 4/26: Week Thirteen: Proserpina Revisited Louise Glück, Averno, 2006 Warsan Shire, Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, 2011