WMST 227 Women in American History: 1880 to the Present

This course examines the lives of women in the modern world, from the end of the nineteenth century through the twenty first, with particular attention to women’s creative choices in navigating an oppressive gender system. Focus will be on the applicability of the standard periodization of American History to the lives of American women as they experienced the intersectionality of race, class, gender, and sexuality and as they responded with innovative strategies for living lives of meaning.  During this time period, women have gained political, economic, social, and legal rights; yet they retain primary domestic responsibility. This course considers the roots of gendered inequalities and explores creative and humanistic ways of addressing them.

Credits

3

Prerequisite

Eligible to enroll in ENGL 121

Hours Weekly

3

Course Objectives

1. 1. Analyze the responses of American women to an oppressive gender system; explore
   innovative, creative, and risk-taking strategies invented by women to enable them to
   navigate systems of race, social class, gender, and sexuality, while pursuing meaningful
   lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.
2. 2. Analyze the applicability of the standard periodization of American history to the lives of
   American women; assess variations of the sexual division of labor as women creatively
   sought meaningful work and found innovative ways to adapt to new roles, in wartime, during
   the Industrial Revolution, through social change, the struggle for suffrage, and the
   emergence of feminism in the 1960s.
3. 3. Analyze fictional portrayals, in print and film, of women and their families during this period,
   comparing them with what we know about actual women and their families.

Course Objectives

1. 1. Analyze the responses of American women to an oppressive gender system; explore
   innovative, creative, and risk-taking strategies invented by women to enable them to
   navigate systems of race, social class, gender, and sexuality, while pursuing meaningful
   lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.
2. 2. Analyze the applicability of the standard periodization of American history to the lives of
   American women; assess variations of the sexual division of labor as women creatively
   sought meaningful work and found innovative ways to adapt to new roles, in wartime, during
   the Industrial Revolution, through social change, the struggle for suffrage, and the
   emergence of feminism in the 1960s.
3. 3. Analyze fictional portrayals, in print and film, of women and their families during this period,
   comparing them with what we know about actual women and their families.