Expository Writing (105-0-2)

Topic

'You better work': Women, Writing and Labor

Instructors

Elizabeth Mary Winter

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 4-410: Tues, Thurs 1:00PM - 3:30PM

Overview of class

Taking inspiration from Britney Spears's 2013 hit song, this course will challenge you to strengthen academic reading and writing skills, while asking questions about the relationship between gender and labor. Together, we will examine depictions of "women's work" in essays, short stories, song lyrics and television and analyze how various representations of female labor - in the home, the office, and beyond - shape cultural norms and narratives. From mothers and caretakers, to "girlbosses" and "tradwives," this class will ask you to critically think and write about how our expectations around gender and work have changed over time. How do different conceptions of female labor intersect with race and class? Where and how do women find meaning in their work? This course helps students transition into college-level inquiry while offering opportunities to reflect on the future work they might use their education to pursue.

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar
Face to face: In person, in campus space