Romantic Feminism

Let the British invasion commence!

 For this semester, we will be all Brit Lit -- focusing first on the Romantics. To begin class, you learned more about the Romantic era and its individualism, passion, intuition, instinct, rebellion, and nature fascination. Embodied by the peregrination of Wordsworth, the artistry of Blake, the albatross of Coleridge, the salaciousness of Bryon, the rebellion of Shelley, and the melancholy of Keats, Romanticism spawned a reactionary outlook to Classicism and its logical bent. Before we spend quality time with the aforementioned Romantics, we will commune with the mother of one, Mary Wollstonecraft.

Then, came the stereotypes of males and females in our society. From sandwich making women (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/stephanie-smith-300-sandwiches-engagement-ring_n_3990325.html to read the article about a woman utilizing sandwiches to land an engagement ring) to unfashionable men, gender and sex stereotypes abound. These stereotypes are reinforced by literature -- classical and modern.

Additionally, we will be completing Feminist interpretations of our Romantic readings. Feminist theory revolves around the patriarchal expectations of males and females in gender roles, classes, morals, and social mores. As presented in class, the main four gender roles for females are dutiful daughter, mother/caregiver, sexual/passionate, and mad/bad. To equalize matters, our male gender roles are responsible son, father/provider, sexual/lustful, and rebel/tyrant.

For Friday's class, we will continue with vocabulary, look at a Metamorphosis interpretation via the feminist lens, present allusion posters, meet Mary Wollstonecraft, and reveal the rangefinder scores. Phew.