Grace Merva For most of history women have found their position to be beneath a man in society, lacking power or control when in a relationship, and the representation of women in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street does not depart from that cultural norm. Cisneros, as an emerging feminist figure specifically advocating for Hispanic … Continue reading A Street Where Women Wait at the Window… →

by Sydney Leslie   In recent years, more and more people have begun to look at the implications of gender in the development of personality, societal expectations, and the role of binary gender in everyday life. But what about earlier depictions of these gender roles? Of course, in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, these … Continue reading Charlotte Temple: Guilt and Girlhood →

  The young women that worked in textile mills during the 19th century mainly did so out of necessity, rather than choice: their families needed additional income, so these young women were forced to work in factories, most often in deplorable conditions. However, mill girls were sometimes able to reclaim a sense of autonomy as … Continue reading Power and Autonomy in The Lowell Offering by Rachael Bindas →

In the coming weeks classmates in Representing Adolescence will be sharing their thoughts, observations, ideas, and questions about books like Charlotte Temple and Ship It, about their discoveries in Special Collections, and about their plans for projects. This is a fairly large class, so there are a lot of voices and perspectives coming together to … Continue reading A note from the teacher →