32202

SoSe 13: Ethnic Women Writers

Katharina Motyl

Comments

Women Warriors: Ethnic Women Writers since the 1970s In this class we will explore how African American, Native American, Chicana, Asian American and Arab American women writers negotiate their position as racial and gender minorities in a Eurocentric, heteropatriarchal society, and engage with misogynist (and homophobic) tendencies in their own communities. Writers such as Audré Lorde, Leslie Marmon Silko and Randa Jarrar point to the structural inequalities (poverty, police racism, etc.) families of color tend to face in the U.S., grapple with the exoticization of women of color in mainstream American culture and their communities' expectation that women are responsible for preserving the culture of the "home country," address the taboo around domestic and sexual violence that reigns in some communities of color, and draw attention to the racial and class biases of the women's liberation movement of the 1970s. We will acquire key concepts of Women of Color Feminism such as intersectionality and engage with secondary sources from seminal works such as This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color to theorize the positionality of women of color, address the translation of state violence into misogynist violence, and inquire into the role feminism has played in U.S. (settler-)imperialist projects. This seminar will be held in English. Please acquire copies of Sandra Cisneros' short novel The House on Mango Street (preferably the Vintage paperback edition of 1991), Toni Morrison's novel Sula (preferably the Vintage paperback edition of 1998), and Maxine Hong Kingston's novel The Woman Warrior (preferably the Vintage International paperback edition of 1989). A certain Seattle-based internet vendor carries all three at economical prices. Please make sure you have read The House on Mango Street by the third week of classes. close

14 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Tue, 14:00 - 16:00 14 Class schedule

Tue, 2013-04-09 14:00 - 16:00

Lecturers:
Katharina Motyl