English 2200W-British Women Writers

This course is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of British women writers; rather we will be reading a few select works by some of the funniest, smartest, most skilled and most innovative writers in Britain drawn from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first.

Along the way, we will become familiar with some key terms and questions in feminist literary criticism, we will and ask what it means to study women writers as both women and as writers. By focusing exclusively on works by women, we will explore the ways in which gender matters in British literary history, and perhaps the ways in which it doesn't. This course presents women writers as a diverse group of people with different influences and aims, and as full participants in the creation of a British literary tradition, rather than as footnotes or respondents to their male counterparts. 

Students will practice close reading skills in short papers and discussion board posts. At the end of the semester, each student will design and create an annotated anthology of writing by British women, including the student’s own commentary and reflection on works or passages they select.

Authors on the syllabus are likely to include Amelia Lanyer, Jane Austen, Christina Rossetti, Agatha Christie, Muriel Spark, Zadie Smith and Monica Ali.

This course is presented in an online format. While there may be some asynchronous elements, students should plan for class meetings to occur via Zoom during the scheduled class times.