The start of the 2024-25 school year led to Midtown introducing a new course: Women’s Literature. This course aims to examine literature pieces written across a range of periods and to discuss their connection to women’s perspectives and experiences.
The class, taught by English teacher Alexis Smolko, has been a passion of hers since she started teaching.
“I’ve been wanting to teach Women’s Literature since I first began teaching,” Smolko said. “[Luckily], Midtown is a very inclusive school and welcomed my curriculum with open arms. When looking through the top 50 novels taught nationwide in English classes, only 10 books are penned by women. This lack of representation in high school classes is not only disheartening but also perpetuates a narrow literary perspective that fails to reflect the diverse voices and experiences of 51 percent of the American population. It’s a disservice not to present this literature to students.”
Books that are introduced in the class are chosen to satisfy several bases that Smolko said she thought were necessary and are voted on by students afterward.
“The selection met a series of criteria I felt was important: student engagement, rich female characters, and diverse representation [in both characters & authors],” Smolko said. “Even though I am an English major, I prefer to teach contemporary and modern novels over the canon. We are living in a time of extremely talented authors who bring a fresh perspective to the meaning of ‘womanhood.’ Just because a book was published within the last decade does not mean it lacks literary merit.”
Brian Montero, librarian and media specialist, said a diverse range of Women’s Literature is available to be checked out in the library, providing an asset to the course.
“We do have a large number of books by female authors and with feminist themes that are constantly checked out,” Montero said. “I haven’t seen anything specific yet, but this theme seems in line with the theme of a good number of books in our collection.”
Montero said he is enthusiastic about the arrival of the new class.
“The media center would love to work with Women’s Literature,” Montero said. “I would love to order more titles that these students would like to see in terms of female authors.”
Junior Madison Thurmond, a student in Women’s Literature, believes she has gained a lot of experience and knowledge from taking the class.
“When I heard that a Women’s Literature class was being added to Midtown, I knew I had to join,” Thurmond said. “Being a girl is an important aspect of my identity, and learning about women and their unique experiences is important to me. I have always been intrigued by how literature reflects and shapes societal attitudes, and I wanted to delve deeper into how women’s voices contribute to this dynamic.”
Thurmond said taking this class has brought attention to issues women have faced in the past and are currently dealing with.
“Participating in this class has made me realize just how powerful a medium of literature is, especially when it comes to shedding light on challenges women have faced throughout history and continue to face now,” Thurmond said. “Being in this class has also exposed me to the richness of women’s contributions to literature, which showcase the diversity of women’s experiences and also celebrates resilience.”
Although Smolko believes that it is too early to assess the effectiveness of this course, she is hopeful for its future.
“I have a good feeling about this curriculum, and I am so thankful for the opportunity,” Smolko said. “We just started our first novel, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which is such a cornerstone in feminist literature. I’ve enjoyed listening to my students unpack the dystopia, drawing parallels between the fictional Republic of Gilead to our current world.”
Smolko’s goal in teaching Women’s Literature was to provide students with a pleasant, safe space to study literature.
“Every student brings a new idea to the table; so, it’s been really fun for me as a teacher to simply provide the material and let my students run with it,” Smolko said. “The setup of this class is simple: read and discuss. I wanted to structure Women’s Literature as much of a book club as possible. In the future, I hope juniors and seniors who want a safe and fun place to read good books and talk about the meaning of feminism sign up. Books are cool. Books by women are a necessity.”
