Help from the Hive Mind

[dreams_of_wings]

so! In the fall I am going to be teaching two sections of introduction to women's studies at Suffolk University, which I am beyond thrilled about. But perhaps even more exciting is the fact that the department has asked me to develop and propose an upper division course for the spring semester, and the idea of mine they were most excited about is a

Comments

I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[drwex]

So I'll confine myself to that (leaving off things like "Go Ask Alice" and "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"), being as I'm a rank amateur at this:

pretty much anything by Jane Yolen

"Girl in Landscape" by Jonathan Lethem

Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series

some people like Madeleine L'Engle but I'm much more fond of the fantasy things done by Terri Windling such as her Fairy Tale series and the Borderland stories. Granted that I'm not a huge fantasy fan to begin with, but I think Windling has a much better eye for these things.

"War for the Oaks" by Emma Bull, or maybe "Finder".

And now that I've drifted far into fantasy I have to nod to Ellen Kushner as well, though I'm having a hard time thinking of Kushner things with female protagonists.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[dreams_of_wings]

I'm confused about what you're trying to say about genre. I wasn't specific about what kind of genre recommendations I was looking for because I want recommendations from all different kinds of genres.

In any case, thanks for the recommendations.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[drwex]

I was mostly making a joke about fantasy and science fiction, which are often labeled as "genre" (in opposition to "mainstream").

When you are done disserting and have oodles of free time and if you like you can read some of the "genre ghetto" critical thinking, of which some is actually worthwhile, imnvho.

Regardless, sorry for making obscure references.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[ricevermicelli]

Wex, I'm boggling.

YA fiction? IS A GENRE. It is very nearly the most ghetto-ed effing genre there is, shat on almost as much as category romance.

And how, precisely, does anyone *get* within striking distance of a PhD in English these days, without immense amounts of critical discussion of genre? I couldn't get through a BA without multiple seminars on "What is Literature?", and the use of genre to marginalize women writers and writers of color.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[drwex]

Touche' and too true. I'm less certain about YA being ghettoized these days. I'm trying to track the source of the story but generally YA sales are well ahead of almost every other category.

I used "genre" too casually as a shorthand for SF/Fantasy/Horror/Spec Fic. My bad. I apologize.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[ricevermicelli]

And also - Flora Segunda: YA fantasy set in an Aztec-influenced alternate San Francisco.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[orbitalmechanic]

Kushner's most recent novel, The Privilege of the Sword, has a teenage female protag.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[drwex]

Oh, thank you! I am not familiar with that book.

It may be worth noting that Kushner is an out lesbian in a state-certified same-sex marriage and she is not afraid to put in issues of gender and orientation in her work. She's not a POC but she's definitely not your traditional writer.

Re: I'm a little disappointed no "genre" on there

[dichroic]

It's a wonderful book. Also, I like the way that some people in there are straight and some are gay and that's just the way they are.