Women, Culture, and Politics in US History

Through fiction, memoir and cultural criticism, political activism and popular culture, American women have expressed their ideas, their desires, their values, and their politics. This course will approach U.S. history through the words and actions of all kinds of American women from the early 19th century through the late 20th century. Using both primary sources and histories narrow and broad, we will explore questions of race, class, sexuality, and gender and analyze the ways in which women have intervened and participated in the political and cultural world. This is a research seminar. Considerable attention will be paid to the gathering and parsing of archival and other types of primary evidence, careful and trenchant argumentation, and the development or refinement of a fluent and graceful expository writing style. Open to Juniors and above, Sophomores with permission.