English 4784, Senior Seminar
Women Writers Re-Presenting Marriage
CRN 12544, MW 2:30-3:45, Shanks 242

Professor Bernice Hausman

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Course Description:

The nineteenth-century novel of marriage, developed by women writers, is transformed in the
early twentieth century into narratives that resist or challenge traditional notions of marriage as the
goal and endpoint of a woman's life. In this course, we will read a few of the most important
twentieth-century women writers in the English language (Edith Wharton, Mary Austin, Virginia
Woolf, Nella Larsen) and explore their views of marriage. To place these literary works in their
historical and cultural contexts, we will read a number of essays that examine women's position in
society and the social construction of marriage as women's proper place. Our goal, aside from
reading and talking about some really good books, is to understand how marriage functions as both
a social institution and a narrative technique--in other words, how women writers challenge
marriage as women's only social option by complicating, resisting, or refusing the traditional
marriage plot.

A note on how this course will be run: This course will be run as a true seminar, in the sense that we will read a small number of primary texts and discuss them in relation to background readings of theoretical and historical nature. Students will be in charge of making substantive presentations to the class and running much of the discussion. Two historical texts (Yalom and Cott) are included in the required book section below. Other readings will be made available by the professor. Information about how these books will be utilized in class will be discussed during the first week of class.

Books (available at University Bookstore):

Nella Larsen, Quicksand
Mary Austin, A Woman of Genius (may not be available in January)
Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth (Norton, Norton Critical Edition, 1990)
Elaine Showalter, These Modern Women
Marilyn Yalom, A History of the Wife
Nancy Cott, Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway (annotated; Harvest books by HarperCollins ISBN 0156030357)

How to navigate this website:
Below on this page you will find the assignments and reading schedule for this course, as well as information about attendance . Under assignments, you will see how much each assignment is worth as a percentage of your final grade (points total 100, so the number of points per assignment is also a percentage). The reading schedule includes the topics for discussion, exam dates, and due dates for papers, as well as information about what to read when.

Under General Course Info (another web page) you will find links to Prof. Hausman's teaching pages, including information about how to read for her classes, expectations for written work, feminist pedagogy, undergraduate academic policies (see esp. pages on plagiarism) and the honor code, etc. It is your responsibility as a student in Prof. Hausman's class to be familiar with these guidelines and expectations.

Statement on student accommodation:
Students who have a disability or other condition that requires accommodation should discuss the issue with Prof. Hausman early in the semester. Students need not disclose their condition with the professor, merely provide her with documentation from the Dean of Students Office concerning the necessary accommodation. Students may make an appointment or come to Prof. Hausman's office hours (posted on contact info page). All conversations between individual students and the professor will remain confidential.

Attendance Policy:
No absences are excused, but students have two allocated cuts that are "free"--use them wisely! More than two absences will affect your grade; each absence over two (one full week of class) will cause your grade to diminish 1 point. If there are ongoing issues that will affect your ability to attend this class, please see Professor Hausman early in the semester.

Assignments and Assessment:
Paper #1: 5 page paper on marriage as a concept, either with respect to literary, theoretical, or historical issues. Due February 15. 15 points.

Paper #2: Seminar Paper: 10 page analytic research paper on one of the novels read for class. This paper is linked to the presentation (see below). Due April 19. 35 points.

Final Exam: Take-home exam, due Thursday, May 11, 10am-12 noon. 20 points.

Presentation: Oral presentation on a novel read for class. Students will each present on and initiate discussion concerning a novel on the syllabus. The presentation is a linked assignment with seminar paper, as both concern the same novel and the presentation will follow the paper's analysis. 20 points.

Weekly writing: Due Wednesday of each week, one page of written response to the week's readings and discussion. Responses must substantively engage issues brought forward in class and will receive a check, check plus, or check minus. Total score for weekly writing is 10 points.

Self-evaluation: Students must hand in a self-evaluation during the last week of class or at the final exam. The self-evaluation is ungraded, but a grade will not be assigned unless the self-evaluation is handed in. Information on the self-evaluation can be found at this link.

Reading schedule:

Week 1--Jan. 18
Introduction. Discussion of course requirements, expectations of participation, and use of primary and secondary texts. Brief discussion of novel of marriage, feminist literary criticism concerning the marriage plot, and "writing beyond the ending." Start reading The House of Mirth.

Week 2--Jan. 23, 25
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. We will watch this movie in class this week, as you complete The House of Mirth.

Weeks 3, 4, 5--Jan. 30, Feb. 1, 6, 8, 13, 15
The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton. Start reading These Modern Women. Feb. 15, paper #1 due.

Week 6--Feb. 20, 22
These Modern Women, by Elaine Showalter. Start reading A Woman of Genius.

Weeks 7, 8--Feb. 27, March 1, 13, 15
A Woman of Genius, by Mary Austin. Start reading Mrs. Dalloway.

Weeks 9, 10, 11--March 20, 22, 27, 29, April 3,
Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf. Start reading Quicksand.

Week 12--April 5, 10
My Brilliant Career (movie; original book by Miles Franklin)--substitute to show film.

April 12--discussion of My Brilliant Career (if Prof. Hausman back in town); if not, no class (work on papers).

Weeks 13, 14--April 17, 19, 24, 26
Quicksand, by Nella Larsen. April 19, seminar paper due.

Week 15--May 1, 3
Wrap-up discussion, other readings

Final Exam: May 10, 10:05am-12:05pm.