OSPOXFRD 57: Rise of the Woman Writer 1660-1860 (Way: A-II)

Instructor: Emma Plaskitt

This course will examine the emergence and rise of the professional woman writer from playwright and Royalist spy Aphra Behn (1640-89) to novelist and proto-feminist Charlotte Bronte (1816-55). Considered 'intruders on the rights of men' (Anne Finch) early women writers were criticized for their morals as well as for their writings and fought against the notion that by writing publicly they were somehow neglecting their domestic duties and abandoning female modesty. The course will examine how women writers attempted to shake off this stigma and will place each author and text in its historical and literary context. Focusing on a range of poets, playwrights, and novelists including Eliza Haywood (purveyor of amatory fiction and scandal memoirs), Frances Burney (novelist and diarist who was a huge influence on Jane Austen), and Mary Elizabeth Braddon (best selling author of the Victorian period and so-called 'Queen of Sensation'), the course will treat topics such as gender roles and proto-feminism, the public versus the private sphere, sexuality, courtship and marriage.

Units: 4-5 | Grading Basis: Letter grade | Way: A-II | Departmental Credit: Science, Technology, & Society, English, Feminist Studies | Component: Seminar

*All courses are subject to change.