LANG 3087 Women's Writing

This is an archived copy of the 2021-2022 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit https://hbook.westernsydney.edu.au.

Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 102374

Coordinator Helen Koukoutsis Opens in new window

Description This unit focuses on the study of women's writing from a broad social and cultural context. While the women writers will change from offering to offering, the content will remain centred on feminist theory and discourses of race, ethnicity, class and gender. The unit will draw on a variety of genres including drama, fiction, poetry, essay and short story. Students will explore women's concerns about motherhood, marriage, violence and domesticity; cultural identity, vocation and the body as (sexual) object. They will also explore women's experiences of madness and victimisation; segregation and alienation; power/lessness and the public sphere.

School Humanities & Comm Arts

Discipline Literature

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 1 10cp

Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 3 subject

Restrictions Successful completion of 60 credit points in currently enrolled program.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
  1. Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of women's writing from across various social and cultural contexts, including the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia
  2. Identify and analyse the generic features and thematic concerns of women's literature
  3. Critically assess the extent to which race, ethnicity, class and gender factor into women's creative spaces and practices
  4. Apply feminist literary criticism to a reading of the subject's primary texts
  5. Conduct independent scholarly research to build on primary knowledge of women's literature
  6. Prepare and write well-analysed critical literary essays.

Subject Content

- Women's writing from Australia, New Zealand, U.S., South America, Britain, Europe and Asia
- The changing Roles of women from specific Histories and contexts
- Feminist theory and literary criticism
- Women's rights and social movements
- Migration, diaspora and women's identity
- Critical discourses of race, ethnicity, class and gender
- Women's concerns about motherhood, marriage, violence and domesticity; cultural identity, vocation and the body as (sexual) object
- Women's experiences of madness and victimisation, segregation and alienation, power/lessness and the public sphere

Assessment

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Item Length Percent Threshold Individual/Group Task
Portfolio 1,000 words 20 N Individual
Critical Review 1,500 words 35 N Individual
Essay 2,000 words 45 N Individual

Prescribed Texts

  • Woolf, Virginia (2004/1929). A Room of One's Own. London: Penguin.
  • Franklin, Miles. (2011/1901). My Brilliant Career, (introduction by Sandra Gilbert). New York: Penguin.
  • These will vary from year to year. Details of e-book availability in the Learning Guide.
  • Walker, Alice. (2014/1983). The Color Purple. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
  • 102374 Women's Writing Subject Reader and 2-3 texts, including two novels and one play:

Teaching Periods

Autumn

Bankstown

Day

Subject Contact Helen Koukoutsis Opens in new window

View timetable Opens in new window

Parramatta - Victoria Rd

Day

Subject Contact Helen Koukoutsis Opens in new window

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Structures that include subject