LIT2026 ST: Exploring Gender in Lit

Beginning with the concept of ladies and gentlemen as presented in chivalry, then moving through history, looking at poetry, fiction, and plays that reflect gender stereotypes of the time and more recent works that undermine them, this course will analyze how literature has reflected, helped shape, or challenged gender roles. To what extent does biology determine what a culture considers acceptable behavior? What are the pressures of manhood in each work? What are the pressures of womanhood? What are the pressures for those who do not fit in the male/female gender binary? How does cultural pressure to conform to gender norms influence characters’ behavior? How do those who do not fit in react, and what, if any, consequences do they face? Readings will include Chopin’s novella The Awakening, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Churchill’s Top Girls, and Hwang’s M. Butterfly. Credits: 3.000