ENGL 1815: Writing Women’s Lives

Abstract

In this course we will study examples of women writing about their lives and practice writing our own autobiographical narratives. The goal of the course is two-fold: first, we will examine the characteristics of the memoir genre and consider the way 20th and 21st Century women writers explore and represent selfhood; second, we will work on telling our own stories. We’ll be asking a number of questions in the course. Can a personal story really be just about “me?” How much of our stories are really about others—family and community? What happens when we take the seemingly shapeless events of our lives and try to shape them into a story? Can we say that a memoir is really true? What part does fiction play in the writing of a life story, and what part does autobiography play in some writers’ fiction? In the course, we will be reading works by Lynda Barry, Elizabeth Bishop, Ilana Blumberg, Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Natalia Ginzburg, Patricia Hampl, Maxine Hong Kingston, Mary McCarthy, Maggie Nelson, Cynthia Ozick, Zadie Smith, Virginia Woolf, and in translation the French writer Colette. You will write one final autobiographical essay (at least ten pages) and five shorter pieces, each at least three pages. I will be giving periodic short reading quizzes. A significant portion of your grade will be based on your engagement and participation in class discussions and writing workshops.