This 200 level,
three (3) credit course concentrates on literature from the Victorian Era (late
1800s and early 1900s). An analysis of gender inequities, societal norms, and
separate spheres provides students with insight into the limitations and
downfalls of a patriarchal society that led to the development of the Culture
of Domesticity and the Cult of True Womanhood. By examining the lives of three
subversive female protagonists, students will concentrate on the social,
political, and cultural concerns of the Victorian Era. Close readings of the
course texts will allow students to begin conversations about the institution
of marriage and gender ideology. The literature in this course will foreground
gender issues through situations of unreliable narration, modern realistic
drama, and dystopia.