This course is a survey of literature on social unrest and upheaval in a variety of forms. We will examine what is broadly understood as protest literature, ranging from the political essay to the utopic/dystopic text. As a class, we will consider feminism, racial politics, heterosexism, and psychic violence in texts that span from the late nineteenth century until the current moment. Further, we will trace formal innovations in the novel, short story, and essay against the background of racism, class conflict, debates around psychiatry and mental health, and shifts in the meaning of gender and sexuality. The course focuses in particular on the relationship between race, gender, and violence, and on questions of psychic trauma, modes of resistance, and personal history: as such, we will read these texts as responses to a set of questions that deal with the individual’s relationship to protest, social movements, and social justice. Our tentative list of texts includes: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-Paper”; James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time; Marge Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time; selections from Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider; and Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men.

This class will focus on the practice of close reading, and the subsequent translation of our analytical success into well-crafted essays that make clear arguments based on evidence found in the text and other sources. Class time will be dedicated to comprehension, examination, close reading, and application of the texts we have read. Daily attendance, active participation, and a clear engagement with class materials are vital for your success in this course.

This course fulfills the University of Washington’s W-requirement. It will include 10-15 pages of graded, out-of-class writing, most likely in the form of two, 5-7 page term papers. The course will also most likely include a presentation component, with the additional possibility of in-class quizzes, short writing assignments, etc.