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HIST 460/560
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BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis course explores significant themes in twentieth-century intellectual history by considering the creative work and life experiences of women who made significant intellectual and cultural contributions to American society. We will consider a wide range of work, on topics ranging from democracy to nature and the environment. Some of the women we will study were academic intellectuals with careers in higher education; some 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? When and why have they brought a "gendered" lens to questions that interest men and women equally? Was the intellectual labor of women organized differently, perceived differently, or otherwise marked by their identity as women? If so, why and how? What historical conditions enabled women to join intellectual communities of various kinds or prevented them from doing so? 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, however, will be on close reading and discussion of texts. There may be occasional films. Students are expected to come to class prepared to talk. Active participation is the most important part of the course. |
WRITING REQUIREMENTSThere are two writing assignments: an 8-10 page essay (double-spaced, 12-point font) and a take-home final exam.
The 8-10 page essay will be an intellectual biography of a twentieth-century thinker. The choice of who to write about is yours. If you are uncertain about a subject, please consult with the instructor immediately after the term starts 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. You must turn in a one-page statement about the subject of your intellectual biography at the beginning of the third week of the term, on April 14. The final two weeks of the course will be devoted to group presentations of these intellectual biographies and we will devote some class time, in advance, to preparing for this. The essay itself is due on Thursday, June 5 by noon in 335 McKenzie Hall.
The final exam will consist of essay questions that integrate major themes from the course as a whole. It will be handed out during the final class and will be due on Monday, June 9 by noon in 335 McKenzie Hall.
Note for graduate students: The writing requirements for students enrolled in HIST 560 will be more substantial. Please consult the instructor.
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.
Jane Addams, Democracy and Social Ethics (University of Illinois
Press, 2002).
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (Houghton Mifflin, 1999).
Joy James, ed., The Angela Y. Davis Reader (Blackwell, 1998).
Nancy MacLean, ed., The American Women's Movement, 1945-2000: A Brief History With Documents (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009). |
THINKING REQUIREMENTS AND WHAT YOU WILL LEARNHistory is a discipline that requires discipline, no less than music, neuroscience, or architecture. That means you should expect this course to require real time and effort. But history repays those who devote time and effort to it many times over. If you work hard in this course, you will end the term knowing something about the chronology and significance of the various topics listed on this syllabus. You can also expect the following tangible benefits, all applicable in a wide range of occupations and careers:
My hope is that you will also experience the pleasure of learning. History promises to make us more interesting people and better, more insightful citizens of our communities and our world. |
RULESAcademic Honesty Lateness Policy Accommodations |
GRADESattendance and participation: 10% |
CALENDAR
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Week 1 |
MARCH 31: COURSE INTRODUCTIONAPRIL 2: HAVE WOMEN THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY AND/OR ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAN MEN?Louann Brizendine, "The Brain Is Not a Unisex Organ" (video) Thomas DiPrete & Claudia Buchmann, "The Rise of Women: The Growing Gender Gap in Education and What It Means for American Schools," Council on Contemporary Families, briefing paper, March 13, 2013. Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own, chapter 1 (first published in 1929) Hilda L. Smith, "Women Intellectuals and Intellectual History: Their Paradigmatic Separation," Women's History Review 16 (July 2007):353-368. Spillman, Scott, "Institutional Limits: Christine Ladd- Franklin, Fellowships, and American Women's Academic Careers, 1880-1920," History of Education Quarterly 52 (May 2012):196-221. Lorraine Daston, "The Naturalized Female Intellect," Science in Context 5 (Autumn 1992):209-235. |
Week 2 |
APRIL 7 & 9: THINKING ABOUT DEMOCRACY: JANE ADDAMSRead: Democracy and Social Ethics, Introduction - Chapter 3 Additional recommended sources on Addams Check out the material on Addams’ life and ideas at the Dead Sociologists' Society website and also at Pluralism and Unity. Jane Addams, “Why Women Should Vote” Jean Bethke Elshtain, Jane Addams and the Dream of American Democracy: A Life (Basic Books, 2002). Louise W. Knight, Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy (University of Chicago Press, 2005). Christopher Lasch, ed., The Social Thought of Jane Addams (Bobbs-Merrill, 1965). Dorothy Ross, “Gendered Social Knowledge: Domestic Discourse, Jane Addams, and the Possibilities of Social Science” and Kathryn Kish Sklar, “Hull-House Maps and Papers: Social Science as Women's Work in the 1890s” in Gender and American Social Science: The Formative Years, ed. Helene Silverberg (Princeton University Press, 1998). |
Week 3 |
APRIL 14 & 16: THINKING ABOUT DEMOCRACY: JANE ADDAMSRead: Democracy and Social Ethics, Chapter 4 - Chapter 6 Reminder: The brief statement about the subject of your intellectual biography is due on April 14 at the beginning of class. |
Week 4 |
APRIL 21 & 23: THINKING ABOUT NATURE: RACHEL CARSONRead: Silent Spring, Chapter 1 - Chapter 9 Additional recommended sources on Carson The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson Philip Cafaro, "Rachel Carson's Environmental Ethics" Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us (Oxford University Press, 1961). Martha Freeman, ed., Always Rachel: The Letters of Rachel Carson and Dorothy Freeman, 1952-1964 (Beacon Press, 1995). Linda Lear, ed., Lost Woods: The Discovered Writing of Rachel Carson (Beacon Press, 1998). Linda Lear, Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (Holt, 1997) |
Week 5 |
APRIL 28 & 30: THINKING ABOUT NATURE: RACHEL CARSONRead: Silent Spring, Chapter 10 - Chapter 17 |
Week 6 |
MAY 5 & 7: THINKING ABOUT RACE: ANGELA DAVISAll readings are from Joy James, ed. The Angela Davis Reader Read for May 5: Read for May 7: |
Week 7 |
MAY 12 & 14: THINKING ABOUT RACE: ANGELA DAVISAll readings are from Joy James, ed. The Angela Davis Reader Read for May 12: Read for May 14: |
Week 8 |
MAY 19 & 21: THINKING ABOUT GENDER: THE INTELLECTUAL LEGACY OF SECOND WAVE FEMINISMMay 19: Read: The American Women's Movement May 21: Read: The American Women's Movement Additional recommended sources on feminism and feminist theory Voice of the Shuttle: Women's Studies and Feminist Theory "Topics in Feminism," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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Week 9 |
MAY 28: STUDENT PRESENTATIONSMay 26: Memorial Day May 28 Destiny Hunt, Jane Addams Remi Nevins, Jane Goodall Trevor Bolin, Maria Montessori Mitch Bolin, Simone de Beauvoir |
Week 10 |
JUNE 2 & 4: STUDENT PRESENTATIONSJune 2 Jill Fogelstrom, Lillian Hellman Ryan Patterson, Josephine Baker Kayla Greer: Toni Morrison Margaret Bostrom: Tee Corinne
The take-home final will be handed out on the last day of class, Wednesday, June 4. It is due on Monday, June 9 by noon in 335 McKenzie Hall. Your intellectual biography is due on Thursday, June 5 by noon in 335 McKenzie Hall. |