Margaret Mitchell immortalized the dominant images of Southern women with Gone With the Wind. The image of the saintly Southern woman is seen in Melanie Hamilton Wilkes; the belle is, of course, Scarlett O’Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler; the wild woman is Belle Watling. These images dominate not only Mitchell’s novel, but also much of Southern life and literature of the twentieth century. This area course will examine images of the Southern woman from the 19th and 20th centuries to arrive at a sense of just who the Southern woman is or can be as she enters the 21st century. The texts will include Anne Firor Scott’s The Southern Lady and other works of literature and examine images of black and white Southern women.
The class will be conducted as a seminar; we will read and discuss the common required texts (also Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying) as a group, and individuals will make presentations on their independent readings (two books by Southern women, about Southern women—see the suggested author list or see me for approval of an author not on that list) and on a final project that each student will individually develop. There will be several short papers on the required texts and on the outside readings, a write up of the project, and a final paper that will be a meditation on the images of Southern women that you each have independently drawn from your required and outside readings.
Grades will be determined by a combination of participation, the short papers and project write up, as well as an informal final exam. Participation will be determined by a combination of attendance, admit/exit cards, contributions to discussion. Generally the papers, project, and exam will be 75% of the final grade and participation will be 25%. Since participation is an important part of your grade, we will have an attendance policy that will allow you three unexcused absences to deal with personal emergencies (illness, family crisis, court appointments); additionally, tardies will accumulate into absences so that five tardies will equal one absence. The carrot = perfect attendance (no absences, no tardies) will be rewarded with a one increment grade boost to your final grade in the course. The stick = excessive absences (over the three allowed) will be penalized by a grade deduction of one increment.

Required Texts:

Allison, Dorothy. Bastard Out of Carolina
Scott, Anne Firor. The Southern Lady : From Pedestal to Politics, 1830-1930
Walker, Margaret. Jubilee

Computer disk for storing papers
4 x 6 index cards for admit/exit purposes

Course Calendar

(subject to change, but the general use of material will be as follows):

Week 2 Aug. 28-30    Walker; select author(s) for outside reading which should start now

Week 3 Sept. 4-6     Discuss images of the women in Gaines; attend Convocation

Week 4 Sept. 11-13    Scott; paper on Walker due

Week 5  Sept. 18-20     Scott

Week 5 Sept. 25-27     Work on project ideas;; discuss book presentations/reviews; library day

Week 6 Oct. 2-4     Discuss projects; paper on Scott due

Week 7 Oct 9-16     Present first book reviews; discuss projects and work for rest of semester

Week 8 Oct 23-25     Allison

Week 9 Oct 30-Nov 1     Finish Allison; begin project presentations; first book review write up due Oct. 30

Week 10 Nov 6-8     Project presentations; paper on Allison due

Week 11 Nov 13-15     Second book review presentations; book review write up due Nov 20

Week 12 Nov 20-29     Development of ideas and drafting for final paper that reflects how images of Southern women come together from the required readings and your outside readings; which will be due Dec 4

Week 13 Dec 4     Course wrap up; development of final exam

Final Exam: