EASTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
Division of Distance Education
Course Syllabus

ENGL/GEND 395: Gender in Literature/Film WEB

Credit Hours: 4

Instructor:
Nancy Knowles
Office: Loso 146--(541) 962-3795, fax (541) 962-3596
Mailing address: Department of English/Writing, Eastern Oregon University,One University Blvd., La Grande, OR 97850
E-mail: nknowles@eou.edu
Home page: http://www2.eou.edu/~nknowles
Office hours: Please email or call to set up an appointment to speakby phone or in person.

Prerequisites: ENGL 104, any 200-level English course, and upper-divisionstanding.

Catalog Description: Intensive study of gender theories in relationto the production and interpretation of literary texts and/or film.

Course Description: ENGL/GEND 395 is a course that examines therelationship between gender and text--how gender affects the way peoplewrite, how gender is portrayed in particular texts, and how gender influencesthe ways people read. This version of ENGL/GEND 395 will focus specificallyon women's science fiction. We will study issues of gender, explore textswritten by women that problematize gender, and demonstrate mastery overthe material in writing.

General Education Course Information:

The General Education Program at Eastern Oregon University challengesstudents to become critical, creative thinkers and engaged, knowledgeablecitizens open to new ways of looking at the world.

Gender in Literature and Film requires students to examine the complexityof the relationship between gender and "texts," posing such questions as:What makes women's texts different from men's? What happens when male writerswrite female characters (or vice versa)? How do various texts comment uponor even challenge cultural assumptions about gender? Such questions providethe opportunity for students to think critically about the role of genderin our culture, particularly as it is reflected in literary and filmictexts. Better understanding of gender issues and the artistic portrayalof gender prepares students to deal with gender in the world surroundingthem, preparation that is particularly important in geographical areasprone to a rather consistent, patriarchal outlook that tends to ignorepower inequities. Exposure to the study of gender in literature and filmprovides an active, accessible way to encourage students to become more"open to new ways of looking at the world."

ENGL/GEND 395 meets General Education component II. General Knowledge:Disciplinary Breadth: Category One--Study of Aesthetics and Humanities:"A liberally educated person should be familiar with the methodology, practice,and controversies regarding interpretation of texts (in the most generalsense). [. . .] Upon completion of course work in this category, studentsshould be able to identify and distinguish between genres and cultures,delineate and analyze aesthetic features of cultural artifacts and makesound aesthetic judgments, read critically, differentiate fields of inquirywithin the humanities, discuss historical context, integrate knowledgethrough humanistic inquiry, and express themselves effectively."

Learning Outcomes: (Upon successful completion of this course,students should be able to...):

  1. Understand the methodology, practice, and controversies regarding the interpretationof women's science fiction, namely the place of these texts within thegenre of science fiction, the history of women's writing, and the studyof gender,
  2. Read women's science fiction texts critically, both for gendered implicationsof women's writing and for the portrayal of characters and situations thatconform to or challenge patriarchal norms, and
  3. Write effectively about women's science fiction as a means of discoveryand of sharing critical and creative responses to this kind of text.

Means of Assessment (all assess the above outcomes) and Grading:

Required Texts available through the EOU Bookstore <http://bookstore.eou.edu>:

Other Texts:

Course Requirements:

Gradinginformation, rules, and guidelines common to all my syllabi
 

Schedule:

Discussion Board postings beyond those assigned are required forfull participation credit.
 

Week

Assignments Due

Week 1 
Due Sunday,  
June 27

Course Introduction

  • Read Week 1: Course Introduction and Instructions (in Lectures)
  • Read Assignments area
  • Exercise 1: Self Introduction (in Assignments) and informal response
  • Exercise 2: Digital Drop Box Practice
  • Participate in decision about film on the Discussion Board

Introduction to Women's Science Fiction

  • Read Week 1: History of Science Fiction as a Genre
  • Read Week 1: Gender Studies History and Issues
  • Read Week 1: The Place of Women's SF in Women's Writing

Reading and Response

  • Read The Left Hand of Darkness Chapters 1-10
  • Read Week 1: Writing Informally about Literature
  • Week 1 Response Paper and informal response 

Week 2 
Due Sunday,  
July 4

Reading and Response

  • Read Week 2: Ursula K. Le Guin Biography
  • Complete The Left Hand of Darkness
  • Read Week 2: Close Reading
  • Week 2 Response Paper and informal response 

Week 3 
Due Sunday,  
July 11

Reading and Response

  • Read Le Guin "Is Gender Necessary" posted on Discussion Board in PDF format(You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read this document--if you don't havethis program, visit CNET's shareware page (http://shareware.cnet.com/),search for Adobe Acrobat Reader, and download the appropriate version foryour computer)
  • Read The Handmaid's Tale Parts I-VIII 
  • Read Week 3: Theoretical Approaches
  • Week 3 Response Paper and informal response

Short Paper Assignment

  • Read Week 3: Writing Formally about Literature
  • Review Short Paper Assignment
  • Brainstorm potential ideas on the Discussion Board

Week 4 
Due Sunday,  
July 18

Reading and Response

  • Read Week 4: Margaret Atwood Biography
  • Read Week 4: Utopia/Dystopia
  • Complete The Handmaid's Tale
  • Week 4 Response Paper and informal response

Short Paper Assignment Continued

  • Submit Short Paper Generative Writing to the Digital Drop Box

Week 5 
Due Sunday,  
July 25

Short Paper Assignment Continued

  • Post rough draft of Short Paper on Discussion Board and respond formallyto two other drafts

Film and Response

  • Read Week 5: Film
  • View selected film
  • Week 5 Response Paper and informal response

Reading

  • Read "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" on Discussion Board

Week 6 
Due Sunday,  
August 1

Short Paper Assignment Continued

  • Submit Short Paper, Works Cited, and Self-Evaluation to Drop Box
  • Fax copies of any pages from which information is cited to 541-962-3596except materials I've assigned for this course or anything I can accessvia the Internet

Term Paper

  • Review Term Paper Assignment
  • Read Week 6: Secondary Research
  • Read Week 6: Integrating Research Sources
  • Brainstorm ideas on the Discussion Board

Reading and Response

  • Read Week 6: Sheri S. Tepper Biography
  • Read Week 6: Female Supremacist Fiction: Utopia or Dystopia?
  • Read The Gate to Women's Country Chapters 1-14
  • Read Tiptree "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" on Discussion Board in PDFformat
  • Read Tepper secondary article on Discussion Board
  • Week 6 Response Paper and informal response

Week 7 
Due Sunday, 
August 8

Term Paper Continued

  • Submit Term Paper Generative Writing to Drop Box

Reading and Response

  • Complete The Gate to Women's Country
  • Read Week 7: Allusions to Euripides


Week 7 Response Paper and informal response

Week 8 
Due Sunday,  
August 15

Term Paper Continued

  • Draft term paper

Reading and Response

  • Read Butler Preface, "Bloodchild," and "The Evening and the Morning andthe Night" 
  • Week 8 Response Paper and informal response

Week 9 
Due Sunday,  
August 22

Term Paper Continued

  • Post rough draft of term paper to Discussion Board and respond formallyto two other drafts

Reading and Response

  • Read Week 9: Octavia E. Butler Biography
  • Read Week 9: Black Feminism
  • Read Week 9: Racism and the Alien
  • Read Butler "Near of Kin," "Speech Sounds," "Crossover," and Two Essays 
  • Week 9 Response Paper and informal response

Week 10 
Due Monday,  
August 30

End of the Term Work

  • Submit Term Paper final draft to Digital Drop Box with Works Cited andSelf-Evaluation
  • Fax copies of pages from which information is cited to 541-962-3596 exceptmaterials I've assigned for this course or anything I can access via theInternet
  • Submit any remaining revisions to the Digital Drop Box
  • Week 10 Response Paper and informal response