HIST
460/560 III |
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AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL HISTORY: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
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Brief DescriptionThis course explores significant themes in twentieth-century intellectual history and cultural life by considering the creative work and life experiences of women who made significant intellectual contributions to American society. We will consider a wide range of work, from politics and social policy to science, literature, education, and gender studies. Some of the women we will study were academic intellectuals with careers in higher education, but many were not. Women thinkers have been social activists, cultural critics, journalists, and creative artists as well as academicians. Many have been more than one of these things. The course will also explore some basic questions about women thinking. Have women thought differently than men? Have they thought about different things? Was their intellectual labor organized separately or differently or otherwise marked by their identity as women, and if so, why and how? What historical conditions enabled women to join intellectual communities of various kinds? What conditions made it difficult or impossible? How did patterns of women’s thought change over the course of the twentieth century? The course assumes a basic working knowledge of twentieth-century U.S. history. This course will include a few lectures—mostly to provide basic background and context. The emphasis in the course, however, will be on close reading and discussion of texts. There will be occasional films. Students are expected to come to class prepared to talk. Active participation is the most important part of the course. Graduate students may meet separately with the instructor, at a time to be arranged. Additional reading and writing will be required. |
Writing RequirementsThe major writing assignments will be one 8-10 page essay, and a take-home final exam. The essay will be an intellectual biography of a twentieth-century thinker whose ideas are relevant to the subject areas covered in this course. The choice of who to write about is yours, but you are required consult with the instructor early on in the term for help in selecting an appropriate figure and identifying source material by and/or about her. Begin by consulting the Supplementary Resources and List of Women Thinkers for ideas. Please also read the Intellectual Biography Guidelines. The final two weeks of the course will be devoted to group presentations of these intellectual biographies. The essay itself is due on Thursday, June 3 by 5 pm in 321 McKenzie Hall. In addition, students are expected to turn in weekly logs consisting of at least one paragraph and several questions about the reading for the week. The logs will be accepted on either Tuesday or Thursday in class, but they will not be accepted after the week in which they are due. The final exam will consist of essay questions that integrate major themes from the course as a whole. It will be handed out in class on Thursday, June 3, and will be due on Tuesday, June 8 by 5 pm in 321 McKenzie Hall. Please note that most of the written work required in this course is due at the end of the term. Please plan your time accordingly. |
Reading RequirementsThe following books are required and have been ordered through the university bookstore. They can also be found on library reserve. Article-length readings can be found in a Course Packet [CP], also on library reserve. Jane Addams, Democracy and Social Ethics (University of Illinois Press, 2002). Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (Houghton Mifflin, 1999). Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hungry Minds, 2000). Joy James, ed., The Angela Davis Reader (Blackwell, 1998). Margaret Mead, Coming of Age in Samoa: A Psychological Study of Primitive Youth for Western Civilisation (Harper Trade, 2001). HIST 460/560 Course Packet [CP] |
RulesAcademic Honesty Lateness Policy Accommodations |
Gradesattendance and participation: 10% |