ABSTRACT
In mid-May 2017, the first group of women graduated from the 14-week US Infantry training boot camp, having matched the physical standards required of the men. Many excellent Francophone women writers emerged: crux of most of their writings is a searching examination and re-evaluation of traditional gender-based identity themes. A strong sense of social responsibility, and nostalgia for their country of origin, frequently leads expatriate authors to incorporate stories translated from oral tradition into their novels and plays, to preserve a body of historical understanding and wisdom that otherwise risks being lost in a world of print and electronic culture. Issues regarding women’s rights and social status can be raised briefly in an opening overview, together with women authors’ views regarding their social roles. While the course questions complex relations of identity, community, and belonging, its success is due in part to sense of community through the exploration of gender identity themes through the teaching of texts of Francophone women.
