Spring 2005

E 397N • 20th-Century Caribbean Women Writers

Course Description

In this survey, we will explore not only the historical developments in twentieth-century Caribbean women’s writing, but also the spectrum of intellectual and political changes represented by this body of work. Issues of particular interest will include the intersection of race, gender, and place in identity construction; women writers’ creative yet no less politicized interventions in key regional artistic and political movements, and the figure of the traveling intellectual in late twentieth-century fiction. How does relocation to the Metropole impact one’s experience and articulation of racialized gender identities? What constitutes “theory” or a viable “manifesto”? What is the nature and relevance of intellectual work—and intellectuals—situated outside the academy? Secondary readings may include texts by A. James Arnold, Carole Boyce Davies, Maryse Condé, Frantz Fanon, Vera M. Kutzinski, and Paulette Nardal.

Texts

Proposed Texts Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies Mayotte Capécia, I Am a Martinican Woman Michelle Cliff, Abeng Merle Collins, Angel Maryse Condé, Heremakhanon Edwidge Danticat, The Farming of Bones Rosario Ferré, The House on the Lagoon Cristina García, Monkey Hunting Merle Hodges, Crick Crack, Monkey Jamaica Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother Paule Marshall, Chosen Place, Timeless People Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea

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