Studies in 20th- and 21st-Century Literature (368-0-20)

Topic

Feminist Rage Fiction

Instructors

Jennifer Comerford

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 215: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

From #MeToo to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the ongoing assault on women's autonomy, narratives of feminist rage have never felt timelier, however much they appear double-edged. Audre Lorde has argued for the utility of anger as a powerful anti-racist tool. On the flip side, however, are the ways in which media has perpetuated stereotypes of the "Angry Black Woman." Some questions we will consider in this course include in what ways can rage be a resource of resistance and power in response to racism, misogyny, and compulsory heterosexuality in a patriarchal system? How can rage be channeled into constructive ends when it so often entails loss of control and the potential for (self-turned) destructiveness? To what extent does the commodification of angry women in media dilute the subversive power of feminist rage? And how do we address the potential for feminist rage to become absorbed into narratives of the hysterical woman or framed (often in racialized ways) as animalistic behavior?

Class Materials (Required)

Possible texts include Shirley Jackson, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca, Han Kang, The Vegetarian, and Oyinkan Braithwaite, My Sister, the Serial Killer. Essays and short stories may include works by Audre Lorde, Myisha Cherry, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Carmen Maria Machado. Film and television episodes may include The Power (2023) and Nightbitch (2024).

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area