Course Description
English 207 introduces cultural studies as a field and practice by examining female action heroes in US popular culture. We will identify classical roots of the female warrior figure before turning to 20th- and 21st-century depictions of female heroes in action films and comics. The course explores iconic superheroes like Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, and Ms. Marvel as well as "everyday" women like Pam Grier’s Coffy, Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, and Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa. In analyzing how and why women kick ass, we will connect female action heroes to ongoing cultural debates around gender, particularly as it intersects with race, sexuality, disability, and sexuality.
English 207 fulfills A&H and W general education credits as well as counting toward the English major or minor. Please note that accelerated terms compress a ten-week course into four and a half weeks. The course thus moves quickly and has a heavy workload. See the full syllabus and term-at-a-glance for more information.
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Describe the literary and artistic origins of the female warrior
- Analyze how popular culture texts use expressive tools to represent female heroes
- Relate individual works to the cultural contexts in which they were produced
- Describe cultural discussions of gender and the intersection of gender, race, sexuality, and disability in the United States
- Compare depictions of female action heroes produced by different artists, at similar/different times, or in different media
- Create complex arguments supported by appropriate, carefully explicated evidence
Course Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course—just be willing to critically analyze texts you may currently view as escapist entertainment.
Course Materials
Comic Books
You will need to purchase the following textbooks for this course in digital or print book form. The UW Bookstore has print copies of the Claremont, Rucka, Marston, and Wilson comic books, but you're welcome to search online retailers or brick-and-mortar bookstores for the best prices on new or used copies. Your local public library may also have copies.
Since comic book storyworlds are frequently rebooted, use the ISBN information below to ensure you have the correct book.
- Chris Claremont and John Byrne, X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga. Marvel, 2012. ISBN: 0785164219. Digital version is free for Amazon Prime members.
- Kelly Sue DeConnick, Dexter Soy, and Emma Rios, Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: In Pursuit of Flight. Marvel, 2013. ISBN: 0785165495.
- Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp, Wonder Woman, Volume 1: The Lies (Rebirth). DC Comics, 2017. ISBN: 1401267785.
- Gail Simone, Terry Dodson, and Bernard Chang, Wonder Woman: The Circle. DC Comics, 2008.
- William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman: The Golden Age, Volume 1. DC Comics, 2017. ISBN: 1401274447.
- Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal. Marvel, 2014. ISBN: 078519021X. Digital version is free for Amazon Prime members.
Films
You will also be required to view the following films, available widely from streaming services. Your local public library may also have copies.
- Aliens (James Cameron, 1986, 137 min.). 20th Century Fox. Blu-ray
- Coffy (Jack Hill, 1973, 90 min.). Olive Films. DVD.
- Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015, 120 min.). Warner Brothers. Blu-ray
- Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins, 2017, 141 min.). Warner Brothers. Blu-ray
- A Marvel film or two series episodes from the following list: Black Widow (Cate Shortland, 2021, 134 min.), Captain Marvel (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 2019, 123 min.), Ms. Marvel (Bisha K. Ali, 2022, 45-50 min./episode), or The Marvels (Nia DaCosta, 2023, 105 min.).
Other Materials
The course Canvas site includes digitized scholarly articles on course comic books and films as well as narrated Panopto lectures and links to supplementary videos.
Course Organization
The course is organized into six modules. Modules last anywhere from half a week to a week-and-a-half. Modules 1-5 feature an introductory lecture or lectures, videos modeling analytical methods, critical annotation assignments, discussion postings, and reading/viewing quizzes. Module 6 involves drafting the major project, discussing your draft with peers, and revising from feedback.
Module Overview
- Module 1: The Female Warrior in Classical Art and Literature
- Module 2: We Can Do It! WWII, The Birth of Wonder Woman, and Beyond
- Module 3: Women and the Blaxploitation Genre
- Module 4: SciFi Action: Hardbodies of the Future
- Module 5: X-Women and Female Superheroes in the Marvel-Verse
- Module 6: Major Project
Assignments
Students will complete the following assignments, all of which require you to apply concepts from lecture and example analysis videos to one or more course texts.
- Lecture and reading quizzes (1-3 per module)
- Discussion postings (1-3 initial postings and 2-6 response postings per module)
- Critical annotations of comics panel sequences or film scenes (4)
- Major project (involves description, draft, peer review, and revision)