Two Feminisms: Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind

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Writing just before and just after the second world war, Margaret Mitchell and Simone de Beauvoir depicted two types of feminism in two types of text. Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) combines source data to make an explicit philosophical case for what might be called “progressive feminism”, while Mitchell’s romance Gone With the Wind (1936) makes an implicit case for what might be called “reactionary feminism” through its depiction of Scarlett O’Hara’s coming of age during and after the Civil War. The course will explore both works in an effort to understand each in its own right as well to appreciate the similarities and differences between the two feminisms. Please do the assigned readings listed on the syllabus prior to the first class session.

Texts
  • Beauvoir, The Second Sex
  • Mitchell, Gone With the Wind
TAUGHT: SUMMER 2022