Creating a syllabus for American Literature
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The simple act of creating a syllabus for a "mainstream" American literature course forces an instructor to create a canon, a list of works which best represent the topic at hand. The determination of such canons is based on many factors--perhaps the instructor has a fondness for a particular writer or novel, or she wants to highlight an obscure author. Usually, however, when building their mini-canons, instructors turn to the traditional canon, that canon consisting of those authors and works considered to be the "best" and best representative of American literature. But what does "best" mean, and who decided what should be included? These are always valid questions; given that the traditional canon consists almost exclusively of works written by men, in the light of the Feminist movement these old questions take on a whole new tone, and new questions arise: Which women writers should be considered canonical? Should a new, Feminist canon be created alongside the traditional canon, or should the traditional canon be reevaluated to reflect the contribution of women writers to American literature? This research will examine the influence the Feminist movement has had on American literature studies and the American canon. Samuel Johnson compiled the first English canon in the late eighteenth century; he included works and writers whom "he personally admired and who [sic] educated society agreed were central to the tradition of English letters" (Kaplan and Rose 15). Wi
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t thought, therefore, is unlikely to simply ignore the traditional canonical (male) authors in favor of women authors; instead, it will incorporate the works of women authors and reexamine works with Feminist themes written by male authors.
One work recently added to literature course syllabi is Kate Chopin's The Awakening, published in 1899. This work, which revolves around the struggles of its main character, Edna Pontellier, to find and define herself within her Creole community, caused an uproar at its publication because of its explicit discussions of women's sexual awareness and their need for personal fulfillment. The book was, in fact, banned in Chopin's hometown and so vilified in the press that it disappeared into obscurity soon after its publication and has only recently resurfaced and assumed a place in American literature studies.
Unlike standard female characters of the late nineteenth century, whose status as mothers was the beginning and end of their sexuality, Edna voices "a denial of the ideologeme of the mother-woman" (Bauer 130). She is not only seduced by a man not her husband, Chopin also implies that she experiences autoeroticism (Showalter 72). All of this flies in the face of what was expected fro
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2436
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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