 |
 |
|||
|
||||
|
|
|||
ENGL 490 |
Majors Seminar (3 credits) |
Coordinator: Anita Law This is a Student-Directed Seminar |
|
Chick Lit: Making (Over) a ContextNote: To register for this course, you must e-mail the Coordinator. Put ENGL 490 in the subject line. A transcript of your grades, as well as a statement of intent (e.g. What are your general interests and activities? What can you bring to the course? What do you hope to take away? Comments on the syllabus?) will be required.
In this course, we will investigate the social, cultural, and political context in which Chick Lit was (and continues to be) produced, conceived, and received as a genre. The bulk of the course will be concerned with locating Chick Lit in a historical and theoretical context, in an intellectual tradition and a popular culture - to make (over) a context that has to a large extent been subject to gendered preconceptions. First, we will attempt to understand the lineage of writing that explores ‘romance’ and subjectivity in a brief foray into the world of women’s conduct manuals, Jane Austen, and the Harlequin Romance. We will then move onto texts popularly regarded as ‘canonical’ in Chick Lit, paying close attention to generic markers and crosscutting themes. Our reading of these novels will be supplemented with critical histories and theories as well as varied media such as movie adaptations and music. Movie screenings may also be supplemented by popcorn. The course itself may be of interest to all genders, cutting across the disciplines of English, Women’s Studies, CSIS, and Sociology (of popular culture.) Questions we might ask are: What is Chick Lit? What goes into categorizing something as Chick Lit? What are the implications of something being categorized Chick Lit?
Core Reading List (Tentative): As reading is quite extensive, it is a good idea to read in advance of the course.
Secondary Readings (Selection)
Evaluation*:
* Approximately 35% of the course will be instructor-evaluated; the other 65% will be peer-evaluated
|