19th Century Women's Fiction the Topic
of New Course at USM/L-A
August 2005
Nathaniel Hawthorne famously called popular women authors
in the 1800s "a mob of scribbling women." What did
he mean? Was he right? How should we assess the most popular
fiction of the nineteenth-century today? How did this work
intervene in struggles over slavery, women's rights, and other
social issues of the day? How much can popular fiction affect
the culture at large? Why was this tradition only rediscovered
in the last generation?
These are questions to be addressed in a new course at USM's
Lewiston-Auburn College called "Women's Sentimental Fiction
of the Nineteenth Century." This course will survey some
of the most popular literature in the 1800's written by women
of Anglo and African American descent. Like Harriet Beecher
Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin," these novels and stories
often centered around domestic life but also contained strong
political themes about slavery, racial identity, class difference,
and women's rights. Students will explore the significance
of the fact that though Stowe is the most recognizable name
today, many of these works were some of the bestselling fiction
of their time.
This three-credit course (HUM 399), is open to all interested
students and will meet Mondays, 1:00-3:30 p.m., beginning
September 12. The instructor will be Eve Raimon, Ph.D., associate
professor of arts and humanities. Registration for this and
other fall semester courses is open through the first week
of classes. The complete fall semester course listing is available
on-line at www.usm.maine.edu/lac/schedules.
Please call 753-6500 for more information or advising assistance.
Dr. Raimon may be reached at raimon@usm.maine.edu.
