ENGLISH 196: The Literature of Escape: Women, the Romance Novel, and the Representation of Reality

Course Description

In this course we will focus on "escapism" as a readerly practice. Why do we read things to "escape" our reality? How, exactly, does this work? What elements of reality does the literature of escape retain and which elements does it deliberately reject or overwrite. Furthermore, what are the ethics or political and social implications of this literature? Is it, as many have accused it of being, socially and politically negligent? Does it paralyze the reader by offering a distraction from the concerns of the world? Or can it, in its ability to represent things other than as they are and to encapsulate readers' greatest, most outlandish fantasies, offer a model for how the world can or should be? This course will emphasize romance novels, especially, as a source of "escapism."