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This course is an examination of
women's autobiographical literature throughout many different cultures and time
periods. Drawing from a wide spectrum of primary and manuscript sources,
we will study such representative works as 17th century Puritan women's Indian
captivity narratives, 18th century cross-dressed women's Revolutionary War
memoirs, 19th century slave narratives, Victorian maidservants' journals,
women's pioneer diaries of westward migration and expansion, and 20th century
women's "fictional autobiographies." The reading of these sources will be
accompanied by rigorous research of secondary texts, incorporating the study of
gender, history, and culture in relation to the primary works. Ultimately,
we will explore the contemporary and rising field of autobiographical literary
criticism, applying many theoretical perspectives to this ever-expanding corpus
of women's literature and life-writing across the ages. |