ENGLIT 0850 - THE FEMALE HERO

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
This course studies heroism as a gendered concept as it has evolved over time. The hero is a commonly understood archetype across genres but is most often associated with masculinity. This course seeks to define, authenticate, and analyze the female hero as a powerful figure in her own right. This course will take into account the tropes of classical heroism but consider modern and contemporary texts in which the image of the hero is redefined in line with the concept of the "female hero." Issues we will investigate include: the role of the masculine gaze in the construction of female heroes; feminist versions of heroism and strength; and the role race, class, and gender play in the making of a hero. We will also consider the ways that the female hero inflects or alters traditional feminine roles. And we will consider how the binary constructions of masculinity and femininity are impacted by stories with female heroes. Through analysis of fiction, film, and criticism, we will begin to define the female hero.
Academic Career: Undergraduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: LG/SNC Elective Basis
Course Attributes: Children's Literature, DSAS Literature General Ed. Requirement, Gender, Sexuality & Women's St, SCI Polymathic Contexts: Humanistic GE. Req.

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