REVISIONS OF THE PURITAN ESSAYS ARE DUE WEDNESDAY. This week we will wrap up our study of Chopin's The Awakening by looking at a myriad of resources related to the Women's Movement in America, encompassing the Suffrage Movement in the early 20th/late 19th centuries and the ERA in the second half of the 20th century. Besides reading a chapter from a pivotal non-fiction work, we will also embark upon poetry for the first time this year.

Monday

Reading Judith Sargent Murray's "On the Equality of the Sexes." Discussion of the novel. In the round, I will address some questions, beginning with this one: Is Edna's final act a triumph or a surrender? We will also look at the quotes found on the sea metaphor. At the end of class, I will collect books.
HW: Read items 1, 2 and 4 in the research packet for class tomorrow. Note: You have already read the third entry in the packet, the background on Creole culture.

Tuesday

How was Chopin's novella received? Discussion of what surprised you in last night's readings. We will read together the background articles by Napakoski on "The Problem with no Name," and begin another Excel spread sheet locating pertaining quotes.
HW: Read item #5 in the research packet, "Looking for Kate." Annotate: How is Chopin's life intertwined with that of her creation, Edna Pontillier? Look for similarities and differences.

Wednesday

Discussion: What connections do we see between Chopin and Cassatt? You will need to use both last night's reading and your notes from the Cassatt documentary to support your view. I will also collect your Puritan revisions, and you will set a focus for your next paper, which will be on Chopin and Cassatt.
HW: Read the chapter from Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique.Annotate: How does this chapter describe Edna Pontillier?

Thursday

Reading The Smithsonian essay on the history of Wonder Woman.
HW: Finish reading the aforementioned essay and post a paragraph on the essay. The assignment appears as a blog post just preceding this syllabus.

Friday

Looking at a few commercials from the 1950s, and answering this question in discussion: Was Friedan right about the condition of American women? And then starting to answer this question: Does Friedan's view still apply in America today? Time permitting, we will begin the Atlantic 2007 essay, "The Truth About Beauty."
HW: Finish reading the aforementioned essay tonight.