2+UNIT+2+The+Lens+of+Gender


 * Eng IV Honors **


 * __ Unit 2: Through the Lens of Gender and Class __**


 * // What insights can we gain from evaluating literature through the critical lenses of gender and socioeconomic class? //**


 * // How does our socioeconomic status and gender shape our perception of “self” and the world? //**


 * To what extent do biological factors and environmental influences determine gender roles? To what extent do biological factors and environmental influences determine social class?


 * What were the traditional expectations for American males and female roles? How do contemporary expectations differ from those of the past? What were the traditional expectations for American socio-economic classes?


 * Are gender roles universal? How do the gender roles in America compare to other cultures? Are class divisions universal? How does social class in other countries compare to American ideas about social class?


 * What are the consequences for deviating from societal expectations of gender roles or social position?


 * In what ways will gender roles and class structure evolve in the future?

Assignments for this unit will be drawn from the following resources:

//__Novels:__// //The Handmaid’s Tale// Margaret Atwood //The Bean Trees// Barbara Kingsolver //The Bell Jar// Sylvia Plath //The Color Purple// Alice Walker //Nickel and Dimed// Barbara Ehrenreich



//__Drama:__// //A Streetcar Named Desire// Tennessee Williams

__Films:__ //A Streetcar Named Desire// directed by Elia Kazan 1951 //Raising Cain: Boys in focus// by Michael Thompson 2006 Selected Short Stories & Poetry from the Norton Anthology Selected Essays from //The Barbie Chronicles// Selected contemporary, non-fiction articles, columns, editorials

The Yellow Wallpaper by Gilman

[|They're Not Your Husband by Carver]