ENGL3816 · English

Contemporary Women Writers and the Media

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Ever since women began publishing,women authors havefaced extra scrutiny fromliterary critics and the media due to their gender. Withthe rise of social and electronic media, authors and writers are more in the public eye than ever before. What does this mean for contemporary women writers? How does being a woman writer affect social media presence and treatment? This course will examine different cases of women writers and how they intersect with a variety of media (popular critics, academic critics, Twitter, etc.). Students will have the opportunity to consider large questions like "What can literary media tell us about society more broadly?" and "How can the study of literature help address larger social issues and questions?" and develop a sense of how literary media works. Texts may include works by Edna O'Brien, Sally Rooney, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and a multitude of short reviews, interviews, and articles focused oncontemporary women writers.