This course will consider literary works by women in English as occasions where women acknowledge and confront both each other and a literary culture which has traditionally defined feminine identity and excluded female voices. Among the issues we will explore are: Are there significant intertextualities amongst women writers, enough that we might argue for women's literary "traditions," either in terms of form or content? What are the unique difficulties women face as creators, as opposed to just subjects, of literature? Can writing serve as a form of resistance, and if so, how? How is femininity articulated alongside and/or intertwined with other identities and identifications, such as race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality? While including a wide range of women, the course may study in greater depth such writers as Kate Chopin, Virginia Woolf, Adrienne Rich, Sylvia Plath, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Margaret Atwood. Format: discussion/seminar. Requirements: one 4- to 5-page essay, one 6- to 8-page essay, midterm and final exams. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 25-30). (Post-1900)