I found a women’s studies class syllabus (it's a pdf file) on heroic journeys in lesbian literature. The course is from San Diego State University. Here's a bit from the course description:
"In literature, myth, and religion, a human life has often been imagined as a journey along the path from birth to death: a quest, pilgrim’s progress, or heroic tale. Overcoming obstacles along her/his way, the pilgrim comes to understand her/his relation to self, gods, and society, and is rewarded at the end with love or punished with death. But what if that pilgrim progresses along a lesbian path? What kind of journey does she undergo? What kind of self does she discover—or construct? What kind of tale does she tell? What kind of love and place in society awaits her at the end?"
The course’s required texts include:
Paula Gunn Allen, The Woman Who Owned the Shadows
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues
Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories
Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness
Judith Katz, Running Fiercely Toward a High Thin Sound
Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Virginia Woolf, Orlando
Since one of the titles mentioned is Paula Gunn Allen’s book, I thought we might consider these questions!
"In literature, myth, and religion, a human life has often been imagined as a journey along the path from birth to death: a quest, pilgrim’s progress, or heroic tale. Overcoming obstacles along her/his way, the pilgrim comes to understand her/his relation to self, gods, and society, and is rewarded at the end with love or punished with death. But what if that pilgrim progresses along a lesbian path? What kind of journey does she undergo? What kind of self does she discover—or construct? What kind of tale does she tell? What kind of love and place in society awaits her at the end?"
The course’s required texts include:
Paula Gunn Allen, The Woman Who Owned the Shadows
Leslie Feinberg, Stone Butch Blues
Jewelle Gomez, The Gilda Stories
Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness
Judith Katz, Running Fiercely Toward a High Thin Sound
Audre Lorde, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Virginia Woolf, Orlando
Since one of the titles mentioned is Paula Gunn Allen’s book, I thought we might consider these questions!
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