This course will consider the literary contestations of patriarchal ideologies in the work of woman writers from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. It will examine questions of female empowerment and solidarity. In addition we will explore crucial differences between women and the role that issues such as class, sexuality, and political consciousness plays in informing these differences. Discussions will engage with various strands of contemporary feminist theories. Authors will include Julia de Burgos, Ana Lydia Vega, Nancy Morejon and Aida Cartagena Portalatin.