Course Syllabus
Wolves Within: Women's Fiction and the Modern Fable
In this course, we will study contemporary short stories and novels which use elements of the fantastic to convey psychological and socio-historical truths in women's lives. Some of these modern fables are based on true events (such as Toni Morrison’s Beloved), others reimagine folk and fairy tales, and some, such as Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, are entirely original, offering new angles from which to consider this historically female story-telling tradition.
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The course will be fast-paced, with a fairly heavy reading load, and will include three synchronous meetings a week (usually M, T, W) which will be primarily discussion-based. Students will also be required to keep a reading journal and engage in online discussions on Canvas. As a “W” writing intensive class, there will be several formal papers, which will continue to build on writing and research skills.
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Course texts include:
- Beloved by Toni Morrison (2004 edition, Vintage)*
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (2006, Penguin Classics)*
- Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (2017, Graywolf Press)
- Other short stories to be distributed electronically
*Please purchase physical copies of these editions in order to have the same page numbers for discussions and responses. If you choose to buy used, please order early! (The first text we will need is Morrison's Beloved).
Course Summary:
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