Recognizing the importance of feminism in literature ahead of International Women’s Day.
Prof Sarah Star’s insight on why learning about feminism through literature is essential for student enlightenment.
With International Women’s Day coming up on March 8th, it’s important to look back on the contributions that women have made for society, especially in literature. Literature has the quintessential importance of giving people a voice, a platform for their stories to be heard, that can transcend generations. Literature from women like Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters, can help us learn not only what life was like during their times, but the unique way in which they experienced the world through the perspective they bring to their stories. Literature also has the effect of highlighting women’s absence, as male writers have been documented or famous for longer, and were silenced less. In the words of our own Professor Sarah Star, “The intersections between feminism and literature are important because they do not just speak to contemporary issues; they illuminate important aspects about literature and cultures of the past, too.”
Professor Star teaches several courses in the English & Drama Department, including ENG100H5, ENG103H5, ENG202H5, etc. She also notably teaches ENG275H5 Feminist Approaches to Literature. This course looks at how feminism has innervated literature throughout history, and across the world. It dissects a number of texts relating in some way to feminism, and how that are influential. When asked why she enjoys teaching this course, Professor Star replied, “Since so much of the literature I teach was written in the pre-modern era, I am always especially excited for students to see that feminism has always existed, even before we had the language to name and describe it. I hope students leave my classes feeling like feminism is for them and equipped with the tools and vocabulary they need to express their feelings, experiences, and perspectives.”
ENG275 covers a wide variety of texts. One of which is Girl, Woman, Other, by Bernardine Evaristo. The novel is composed of stories from the perspectives of different characters, each unique in different respects, from race to class to sexuality, etc. As the story unfolds, the audience is enlightened to how all the characters are connected, and to how different perspectives challenge our assumptions. Professor Star also believes that the text “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” by Audre Lorde is an influential piece in women’s literature. “The master’s tools” here are referring to the systems in which society finds itself, the class system, the race system, the patriarchy, etc, that work to oppress certain people in order to uphold the status of others (white men). These tools are built, of course, so that they cannot be used to usurp those on top. Take class, for instance. It is extremely difficult for an impoverished person to get themselves into a more comfortable financial status as that comfort comes from things like an education, or a good job, which are difficult to find or afford when you do not start off from a privileged position. Professor Star likes using this piece in particular because “it’s a phrase that students turn to again and again after reading it, as it gives them a frame for understanding what we can do differently as feminists in our goal to end gender discrimination and violence.”
Understanding feminism is a learning curve, especially as we’ve grown up in a society that actively opposes it. It takes patience, a willingness to embrace the discomfort that comes from seeing the world through the eyes of people unlike you. As Professor Star puts it, “That’s what’s important about a movement—it’s still moving, and I want to keep moving with it.”
