Women Who Wrote the World is a course designed to broaden horizons. Students will read works by women who have been influential to the literary canon and to culture. Works within this course are comparable to works read within AP English courses in public and private high schools. As such, these works might be challenging and sometimes uncomfortable in content. For this reason, this course is recommended for mature high school students who are looking to gain a deeper understanding of women authors and the cultures and/or experiences they explore within their works.

Students will read poetry from a variety of poets including (but not limited to) Joy Harjo, Mary Oliver, Maya Angelou, Sylvia Plath, and Wislawa Syzmborska. Short stories will expose students to more literary greats as we read samples from Joyce Carol Oates, Shirley Jackson, Jhumpa Lahiri, Flannery O’Connor, Amy Tan, and Maxine Hong Kingston. Several novels will also be interspersed throughout. In addition, we will review articles on literary and cultural significance and look at timelines that show the progression of women within the written world. Students should be prepared to read 100-125 pages per week and engage in meaningful discussion in class and throughout the week. No formal papers are required for this class, but students are expected to engage with the teacher, with their peers, and with the texts.