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In American literature, culture, and mythology the road has been an enduring theme with roots stretching back to the country’s inception. Yet, while the road has been central to both the creation and articulation of American identity, the prominent narratives associated with road mythology and the road literary genre have historically almost exclusively centered on male experiences. In this seminar, we will map the gendered landscape of the American road, exploring the ways that the male-centered image of the road was written into existence and how van life – an alternative lifestyle and social media phenomenon in which people live in vehicles and narrate their travels online – is reimaging gender on the road. Throughout the semester we will engage both with canonical road texts and less traditional narratives, particularly stories published by women on digital media such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and podcasts as we grapple with gender, mobility, and space on the road.
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