CMLT / WMST 275: World Literature by Women
Section 0301, Spring 2011
Megan Monserez
2230 Tawes Hall
monserez@umd.edu
Office hours: W 2-3, or by appt. MW
“World Literature by Women” vs. Fourteen Weeks of Class
The very act of titling a course “World Literature by Women” creates a series of problems.
Practically, how can one design a course that exposes students to “world literature” when the
length of one semester wouldn’t give us time to address adequately the literature of even a single
nation? How can reading a single piece of fiction from a specific culture allow us to draw any
one conclusion about that nation’s literature or people? If making these assessments based on
such a small sampling would be unfair, then what makes this a useful method of inquiry?
Likewise, why study literature by women? Is it valid to decide to read a work of literature
simply because of the sex of the author? Is there a female voice that we can isolate and evaluate
as being representative of “women’s experience”? Is women’s experience that uniform? In this
class, I hope that we will always be mindful of these questions, attempting to analyze these
works for how they represent the cultures about which and within which they were written, but
also being careful not to assume that these works tell the entire story about a culture or the
female experience.
Ultimately, this course will not try to do the impossible: it will not try to span the entire globe,
nor will it cover the history of women’s writing. Our primary focus will be works of
contemporary literature, the majority of which will be postcolonial. Some of the questions we
may pose include: What are the particular challenges of being a woman in a patriarchal culture?
What additional challenges are posed by being “native” in a land that’s been colonized by
others? What happens to culture in the aftermath of colonization and/or war? Likewise, what
happens to culture as various peoples spread across the globe, often into more “modern”
societies? Do these cultural losses or changes have a particular effect upon women and/or the
formation of identity? What stories can literature tell that a straight history cannot? How do
literature’s formal properties contribute to an enhanced understanding of female experience
around the globe?
Learning Outcomes: This course satisfies the Learning Outcomes for Humanities and for
Understanding Plural Societies.
General Education Humanities
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
Demonstrate familiarity and facility with fundamental terminology and concepts in the areas of
world literature, feminism and postcolonialism.
Demonstrate understanding of the methods used by scholars in the areas of world literature,
feminism and postcolonialism.
Describe how language use is related to ways of thinking, cultural heritage, and cultural values.
Demonstrate the ability to formulate a thesis related to the areas of world literature, feminism
and postcolonialism to support the thesis with evidence and argumentation.
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General Education Plural Societies
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
Demonstrate understanding of some of the bases of human diversity, especially cultural,
historical, social, economic, and ideological.
Demonstrate understanding of fundamental concepts and methods that produce knowledge about
plural societies.
Explicate the processes that create or fail to create just, productive, egalitarian, and collaborative
societies.
Analyze forms and traditions of thought or expression in relation to cultural, historical, political,
and social contexts.
Use comparative and intersectional frameworks to examine the experiences and cultures of
different social groups across societies in today’s world.
Required Books:
Available at Stamp Student Union Bookstore and the Maryland Book Exchange (4500 College
Avenue at Route 1):
The Farming of Bones, Edwidge Danticat
ISBN 0-14-028049-9
The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
ISBN 0-618-48522-8
Nervous Conditions, Tsitsi Dangarembga
ISBN 0-9547023-3-6
There a Petal Silently Falls, Ch'oe Yun
ISBN 0-231-14296-x
The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
ISBN 0-553-38380-9
*The Ventriloquist's Tale, Pauline Melville
ISBN 1-58234-026-9
*Available at BN.com, Amazon.com, or other online retailers.
Course Grades:
Quizzes**: 15%
Paper One: 20%
Paper Two: 25%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 25%
= 100% of course grade
**Approximately twelve quizzes will be administered. Your quiz grade will be calculated based
on your ten best quiz scores. The lowest scores will be dropped.
Late paper policy:
Papers are due at the beginning of the class period on the scheduled due date. If you haven’t
handed in your paper by the time class is dismissed on the due date (which might be before 4:45,
depending on what we have to cover that day), it will be marked late and you’ll lose one letter
grade on the assignment. If you turn it in the following class meeting, you will still lose one
letter grade. Two class meetings late = two letter grades marked off, etc. etc.
Honor Code:
The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic
Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic
integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are
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responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be
aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more
information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit
http://www.shc.umd.edu.
To further exhibit your commitment to academic integrity, remember to sign the Honor Pledge
on all examinations and assignments: "I pledge on my honor that I have not given or received
any unauthorized assistance on this examination (assignment)."
University Policies:
1. Students with disabilities should contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to
discuss any accommodation for this course.
2. Religious observance: Please inform your instructor of any intended absences for religious
observance well in advance.
http://www.umd.edu/catalog/index.cfm/show/content.section/c/27/ss/1584/s/1540
3. In case of inclement weather: please be specific about procedures; see the faculty handbook:
http://www.faculty.umd.edu/teach/attendance.html
4. This syllabus may be subject to change. Students will be notified in advance of important
changes that could affect grading, assignments, etc.
READING SCHEDULE:
1/24 Introduction
1/26 CANCELED—SNOW
1/31 Dangarembga, ch. 1-3
2/2 Dangarembga, ch. 4-6
2/7 Dangarembga, ch 7-end
2/9 Lahiri, chapters 1-4
2/14 Lahiri, ch. 5-6
2/16 Lahiri, ch. 7-8
2/21 Lahiri, ch. 9-end
2/23 Melville, Prologue and Part One
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2/28 Melville, Part Two, pp. 91-155—PAPER ONE DUE
3/2 Melville, Part Two, pp. 155-210
3/7 Melville, Part Two, pp. 210-293
3/9 CLASS CANCELED
3/14 Melville, Part Three and Epilogue
3/16 MIDTERM EXAM
3/21 SPRING BREAK
3/23 SPRING BREAK
3/28 Allende, ch. 1-2
3/30 Allende, ch 3-7
4/4 Allende, ch. 8-10
4/6 Allende, ch. 11-end
4/11 El Saadawi, “In Camera” (course reserves)
4/13 Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief” (course reserves)
4/18 Ch’oe, “Whisper Yet” (in There a Petal Silently Falls)
4/20 Kingston, “No Name Woman” (course reserves)
4/25 Lahiri, “A Temporary Matter” (course reserves) —PAPER TWO DUE
4/27 Danticat, ch. 1-16
5/2 Danticat, ch. 17-26
5/4 Danticat, ch. 27-37
5/9 Danticat, ch. 38-end. Course Wrap-up
FINAL EXAM: Saturday, May 14, 1:30-3:30 pm
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