Women's Studies in London (WS 491): Gender in British Life and Letters, Summer 2003

Dr. Joyce R. Ladenson

Who are/were British women? What are/were British feminisms? What influences have constructed notions of gender, race, class, ethnicity and sexuality had on British women’s lives? How has the role of empire and British nationalism influenced British women’s writing and politics? How have British women of different ethnic and racial backgrounds been represented in literature and culture and to what effects?

By focusing on an overview of the ideas and history of the British Women's Movement primarily from the 19th and 20th centuries to the present, on an overview of a few selected British women writers over about the same period, and on feminist views on art and the theatre, we hope to come to some answers to these questions and to raise other questions as well. Largely by examining textual excerpts from British feminist philosophers, activists and literary writers, we should gain a general understanding of the roles, history and perspectives of British women, making comparisons with U.S. women occasionally along the way. The many excursions to different cultural sites in and outside of London, and the interactive group project will also deepen an understanding of the role of gender in British lives; these trips should be regarded as cultural observations meant to entertain and to instruct--i.e., while having fun is an integral part of this experience, sharpening our powers of observation of the influences of gender in every day British life and thought and recording and thinking critically about those observations are central to this experience.

Texts: Purchase right away!

  1. Course Pack (CP). Available at Budget Printing, 972 Trowbridge Rd., East Lansing, MI 48823, phone: 517-351-5060, Fax: 517-351-0050. Call Budget Printing when it will be ready; it should be ready by finals week, but be sure to call to find out the exact date. If you are out-of-town, please call Budget Printing to have the Course Pack sent to you. Their e-mail address is: budgetprinting21@cs.com. Another phone number given to me is 517-351-1200. If you would rather not give your credit card number over e-mail, call and give the number and date of expiration. Also give your phone number, address and credit card address. I think it's safest to put your order in by phone and speak to a human being.

    2. .

  2. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre. Purchase any edition at your convenience in your local bookstore.
  3. A pocket dictionary. Since you write by hand (can you remember how?) and will not have use of a computer spell check, a dictionary is essential. It is also essential to learn the different meanings of American English and U.S. English.
  4. One large notebook or scrapbook for the Cultural Journal, and a smaller one for your reading notes, questions and essay answers. You can be as creative as you like about the size, shape, color, capacity, etc of your Cultural Journal.

Requirements:

Much of the success of this course rests with you, the student. Readings will be discussed with your help, participation and leadership, and the cultural immersion and critique will happen only with your commitment. This means taking all assignments seriously and conscientiously, making time to read and record analyses and observations in your Cultural Journal and notebook in the midst of many temptations to do otherwise. Please use your time wisely. The amount of readings is moderate and manageable. Additional time is required for work on your Cultural Journal.

 

1. Reflective Essays:

Two reflective essays are required. Essay I, five to six pages, focuses on themes in the first three weeks of reading. Essay II, is in two parts and focuses on themes in the last two weeks and overall (topics will be distributed). The second reflective essay is a final essay. Both reflective essays should be a critical summary of the unit and should clarify theoretical and conceptual relationships among the readings. Essays are due on July 15 for the first essay, and July 30 for the second.

2. Cultural Journal: Daily Accounts of Gender in London Life

You should make entries in your Cultural Journal at least three times a week. These observations are a form of amateur ethnography and should be as concrete as possible. Each entry should be dated and should be at least one and one half pages; in total, the journal should be a memorable account of your summer in London (a kind of scrapbook), with a special focus on the role gender plays in British culture and life. Be as specific as possible about what and whom you see and about the physical and cultural context of your observation. For instance, if you are commenting on the clothing, speech, and gestures of a group of people in a particular location, specify the location, (e.g., Trafalgar Square, Regents Park, etc.), the age, race and class (you can make a guess) of the subjects, the specifics of relevant behavior or appearance. Or, when you comment on a play or a museum visit, illustrate, in the first instance, how the playwright represents gender and, in the latter, how gendered assumptions are evidenced in the paintings and/or sculpture you observe. Indicate at some point, what conclusions you draw from each observation. We will discuss your journal observations in class and, where appropriate, tie them to our readings. Please bring journals to class every day, coming prepared to discuss your entry. Observations of class trips and visitors should be included in your journal. You should record observations about all our trips. You may also want to include responses to and thoughts about your Independent Study as working notes toward your in-class presentation.

3. Optional: A Reading Notebook, comprised of brief, analytical responses to the readings, except for the optional readings, and at least two questions for class discussion. Entries should be made in advance of class discussion. Comparing readings as you progress through the summer will deepen your understanding of the subject matter in the course and will help answer the midterm and final essays. Consider questions such as the following: What are the central points the selection makes and what support does the author give for her points? What is its significance? What questions or issues does it raise or neglect? How does it compare with or relate to other course readings or class discussions?

If you choose to do the Reading Notebook, my hope is that it will be a companion and catalyst as you move through the course. It should help you reflect upon and more fully understand our readings, and it should help you feel better prepared to engage in class discussions.

4. Independent Study (WS 490)

Every student will pair up with at least one other student, if possible,The Independent Study is research on a British woman-related issue such as: violence against women; reproductive rights; gender and sexuality; pornography and objectification; the British Women's Movement; women and the arts; women and political history in Britain; women and literature; multicultural identities; women and unions; lesbian identity, etc. Contact with British women’s groups reflecting such concerns could provide good leads for your independent study. During the first week of classes, (probably Monday, June 30) we will visit the Women's Library, Britain's premier archive of British women's activism. Otherwise, Mondays will be dedicated to work on your Independent Study projects; we will discuss your experiences and observations in Tuesday class. Oral presentations about your project will occur the last week of class.

I will work individually with you on your Independent Study to define the focus, course of study and potential bibliography and how to go about conducting your research. Credit allocation: 2 credits = 8-10 page paper; 3 credits = 11-13 page paper; 4 credits = 14-16 page paper. Incompletes are permitted with regard to Independent Study, but a completed research essay must be sent to my American Thought and Language mailbox (264 Bessey, MSU, E.L., MI 48824) before Friday, September 19, 2003.

5. Student-led discussion:

Each student will lead a discussion on at least one of the readings, summarizing at least three major points supported by significant details, and raising about two to three discussion questions on the reading. Written in outline or narrative form and handed in.

6. Classroom Meetings and Trips

We meet in 100A Gordon Square which is reserved for us from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. We will, however, maintain flexible classroom hours since we will use part, sometimes all of class time for class trips. Discussion of required texts will often be student-led, though I lecture and interject commentaries at appropriate moments. It is essential that everyone arrive in class promptly at 9:00 a.m. to allow ample time for discussion and to make announcements about scheduling.

*All Incompletes must be completed by Friday, September 19, 2003 and sent or put in my office mailbox at: 264 Bessey Hall, Department of American Thought and Language, MSU, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

Calendar:

WEEK 1

Sun, 6/29: Orientation – I will meet with all students in Connaught Hall at a time to be announced.

Mon, 6/30: Either meet in class at Gordon Square or take trip to the Women's Library. Tour of the Women's Library will also include exploring research opportunities. Welcome, introductions. Summary of course coverage and assignments, including assignment of discussion leaders and Independent Study.

*Possible: Hillary's Bloomsbury Walking Tour – or Museum of London

Tues, 7/1 and Classroom Readings: First Wave British Feminism

Wed, 7/2 A: Political History, Cultural Overview
    1. "Women and Feminism," "Feminism in London: A Brief History" from Women's Travel Guide, pp. 25-32
    2. "Women and the Women’s Movement Before 1914," pp. 1-5 in Pugh,
    3. "1792-1920: Introduction," from Kolmar's Feminist Theory, pp. 54-55
    4. "Chronology" in Kolmar, pp. X111-XV11
    5. Frances Power Cobbe, "Wife Torture in England," in Kolmar, pp. 81-88
    6. Josephine Butler, "Letter to my Countrymen" in Kolmar, pp. 75-80,
    7. "Social Change and Sexual Difference in The Late 18th Century" in Caine, English Feminism: 1780-1980,(Oxford, 1997) pp. 13-23.

8)Recommended but optional for visit to Parliament: "Women in Parliament," in Banks, The Politics of British Feminism (Unger, 1993) pp. 45-65

Questions to consider: How did British women define feminism in the first wave? What were the liberal analyses and biases of the first wave? How did class and race background influence the politics of women's rights advocates? What contributions did early feminists make and what specifically were their recommendations for change? Compare with the U.S. First Wave women's movement.

*: Possible: Parliament (House of Commons in session) and Regents Park Outdoor Theatre

Thurs, 7/3: Readings: Continue First Wave,

    1. Mary Wollstonecraft, from A Vindication of the Rights of Women, in Gilbert & Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women (Norton, 1985) pp. 255-275
    2. Jane Moore, "Promises, Promises: The Fictional Philosophy in Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women" (in Feminist Reader, pp. 133-147)

Consider for all First Wave readings:

A. How did Wollstonecraft, Schreiner, Woolf, Strachey, Cobbe, Butler and the Pankhursts define and analyze gender inequality and conformity, and what recommendations for change did each one make?

B. According to Wollstonecraft, how did women's late 18th century socialization disadvantage them and exclude them from the company of "rational" men? What does Jane Moore's postmodern deconstruction of Wollstonecraft say about the "opposing" genres of philosophy and fiction and how are those genres gendered?

WEEK 2

Mon, 7/7: Research on your own

Other trips to the theatre, walking tours this week and next to be discussed and announced.

Tues, 7/8: Readings: Continue First Wave

B: Feminist critiques of late 19th, early 20th century culture and politics

    1. "Nation and Empire in Victorian Feminism," in Caine, pp. 123-130
    2. Anna Davin, "Imperialism and Motherhood" in Grewal and Kaplan, eds., Gender in a Transnational World, (McGraw Hill, 2002) pp. 63-68
    3. Olive Schreiner (Humm, pp. 16-20)
    4. Florence Nightingale, from "Cassandra" (G&G, pp. 836-844)
    5. "Florence Nightingale Museum" (in WTG, pp. 193-196)

Consider: In what ways were British Victorian nationalism and imperialism reflected or resisted by Schreiner, Nightingale? How was gender implicated by Victorian notions of nation and empire?

*Trip: Florence Nightingale Museum

Wed, 7/9: Readings: Continue First Wave: Literature, Politics and Feminism
    1. Sheila Rowbotham, from A Century of Women; The History of Women in Britain and The United States Chapter 1, 1900-1914, (Penguin, 1997) pp. 7-35; pp. 36-63 are highly recommended, but optional.
    2. "The Ideological Context" in Olive Banks, The Politics of British Feminism (Unger, 1993), pp. 71-85
    3. Virginia Woolf, "introduction" (G&G, pp. 1314-1318)
    4. from A Room of One’s Own, Chapter 6 (pp. 95-114)

Consider: What were modernist images of women? How did Woolf depict the political and literary "New Woman?"

*Trip: Salisbury and Stonehenge possible

Thurs, 7/10: Readings: Continue First Wave: Suffrage
    1. "Foreword," pp. IX-X, Glenda Jackson, and "Introduction," pp. XIII-XVIII, in The Suffragettes in Pictures, Diane Atkinson
    2. "Chronology," pp. 9-13, from Sylvia and Christabel Pankhurst, pp. 9-12
    3. Sheila Rowbotham, "foreword" to Sylvia Pankhurst, Sexual Politics and Political Activism (ix-xvii)

4) Emmeline Pankhurst, from "My Own Story," in The Sufragettes, (Routledge, 1995) pp. 279-284; 292-302

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WEEK 3

Mon, 7/14: Independent Study on your own.

Tues, 7/15: Readings: Detour! Feminist Perspectives on Women and British and International Art
    1. Linda Nochlin, "Women, Art and Power," in Nochlin, Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays, (Harper and Row, 1989) pp. 1-36
    2. Hillary Robinson, "Border Crossings: Womanliness, Body Representation," in Deepwell, New Feminist Art Criticism,( Manchester Univ Press, 1995) pp. 138-146

*Trip: National Gallery and, possibly, The Portrait Gallery

********First Essay due Tuesday 7/15********

Wed, 7/16, Thurs, 7/17 Readings: Women and Art (continued)
    1. Linda Nochlin, "Lost and Found: Once More the Fallen Woman" (pp. 57-85)
    2. Gilane Tawadros, "The Sphinx Contemplating Napoleon: Black Women Artists in Britain" (in Deepwell, pp. 25-30)
    3. "Direct, Serious and Heartfelt," in Marsh and Nunn, Women Artists and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement, (London, Virago, 1989) pp. 11-21

Consider: Western ideological notions of gender and their impact on the representation and making of art; feminist interpretations of the female nude, from Velasquez on through the centuries; postmodern, multicultural feminism and art.

*Trip: Tate Gallery; Leeds Castle this week or next

WEEK 4

Mon, 7/21: Independent Study on your own.

Tues, 7/22: 19th Century British Women Writers’ Representation of Gender: Views of Marriage, Domesticity and Romance
    1. Literature of the 19th Century - (G&G pp. 283-304), optional
    2. "Feminist Criticism and Jane Eyre," in Jane Eyre, pp. 459-467
    3. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre. Discuss about one-third.

Consider: feminist readings of Jane Eyre and how they apply to the novel; literary resistance to 19th century gender constructions and the "marriage plot."

Wed, 7/23: 19th Century Literature (continued)

Readings:
  1. Bronte, Jane Eyre. Discuss another third.

Thurs, 7/24: Readings: Finish discussing Jane Eyre

    1. Bronte, Jane Eyre.
    2. Sandra M. Gilbert, "Plain Jane’s Progress," pp. 475-501

WEEK 5

Mon, 7/28: Last Monday to conduct Independent Study projects.

Tues, 7/29: Second Wave British Feminism

Readings:

1) "Afterword: From Feminism to Feminisms" in English Feminism pp.255-271
    1. Rowbotham, Chapter 10—1990-1995, pp. 548-580—recommended but optional
    2. Amina Mama, "Black Women, The Economic Crisis and the British State," and "Violence Against Black Women: Gender, Race and State Responses," in Humm, pp. 150-163

Consider: Second Wave issues of race, class and ethnicity; issues of personal and social identity; the diversification of the British women's movement

Wed, 7/30: Recent multicultural fiction

Readings:
  1. Sarah Coleman, "Not Lost: A Jewish Feminist Atheist Meditates on Intermarriage," in Yentl's Revenge, ed by Danya Ruttenberg, pp. 67-76
  2. Bharati Mukherjee, "The Management of Grief" (G&G pp. 2253-2265)
  3. Buchi Emecheta from The Joys of Motherhood, "The Mother’s Mother" (G&G, pp. 2300-2314)

Wed, 7/30: Journals and second reflective essay due.

Thurs, 7/31: Independent Study presentations in class. Last class.

 

Trips Out-of-London—Dates To Be Determined:

  1. Stonehenge and Salisbury
  2. Oxford (possible)
  3. Leeds Castle

Trips Within London—Dates To Be Determined

  1. Bloomsbury Walking Tour
  2. Museum of London (possible)
  3. Parliament
  4. Hillary: Women’s London
  5. Florence Nightingale Museum
  6. Women's Library
  7. National Gallery and The Portrait Gallery
  8. Tate Gallery
  9. Victoria and Albert Museum—possible
  10. Three to four plays—selection mostly made in London
  11. Final, gala celebration

Speakers and Tour Guides: Dates and Times to be Announced

  1. Dr. Cheryl Law, Women's Studies, University of London
  2. Representative of London's Campaign Against Domestic Violence
  3. Speaker from Race on the Agenda?
  4. Hillary--London Walks

5) Laura Butterfield, Greater London Unison, "the public service union"