Caribbean Women Writers: An Introduction

Beautiful beaches, gorgeous sunsets, delicious tropical food, exotic animals, legacy of slavery, poverty, illiteracy, racism...the many faces of the Caribbean. We’ve all read about or heard of those fabulous inclusive resorts tucked away on an island in the Caribbean. But what about the people who live there? This course will introduce you to a sampling of female writers from the Caribbean who deal with the conflicting images and history of the region. Notice that the focus is on writers and not literature, yes we’ll be reading books, but also engaging in a discussion about the writing process. Along with studying several novels by Caribbean women writers, we’ll also be reading interviews with them to try to piece together the work they’ve done to create these texts. This discussion of process will directly connect back to your own work as a writer, for the purpose of our examination of professional writers is to also increase your awareness of your own writing process. Beyond discussions and class work, the course assignments will also further supplement your development as a writer. Throughout the semester you will be asked to keep a reading journal, which will encourage you to practice critical reading skills. You’ll also write three shorter papers and one research paper that will ask you to investigate a Caribbean author, male or female, of your choice.

Readings

Abeng-Michelle Cliff
Farming of Bones-Edwidge Danticat
In the Time of Butterflies-Julia Alvarez
A Small Place-Jamaica Kincaid

*Note these will all be available at the bookstore

Selections of articles on writing and each of the authors we’re reading—these will be posted on the webct class page and you may read them online or print them out as you like.