History 325:American Women's History

Spring Quarter 2003Prof. J. Wu

Bolz Hall 436Office:261 Dulles

Office Hours:M 3:30-4:30, W 3-4 and by appointmentPhone:292-9331

Lectures:M,W 1:30-2:48Email:wu.287@osu.edu

Discussion Section Leader:

Jane Berger Berger.155@osu.eduOffice hours and location:TBA

Course Description and Objective:

This course surveys the history of American women from pre-European settlement to the present.The lectures, readings, and films will emphasize how female roles in the realms of family, work, politics, and culture change over time.Particular attention will be paid to how women negotiate social norms and help to create new standards of acceptability.The class will emphasize the diversity among women in terms of race, ethnicity, class, and sexuality.

Readings:

The following books will be available for purchase at SBX.They also will be on reserve at the Main Library.

1.Sara M. Evans, Born for Liberty:A History of Women in America

2.Ellen Skinner, ed., Women and the National Experience:Primary Sources in American History, 2nd edition.

3.Melton A. McLaurin, Celia:A Slave

4.Monica Sone, Nisei Daughter

5.Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erodoes, Lakota Woman

Enrollment:

All students must be officially enrolled in the course by the end of the second full week of the quarter.No requests to add the course will be approved by the department chair after that time.Enrolling officially and on time is solely the responsibility of each student.

Assignments and Expectations:

If you have a disability requiring special arrangements for completing assignments, please let your Discussion Section Leader and the instructor know as soon as possible.

1.1 midterm (15% of final grade) and 1 final exam (15%).Each exam mainly focuses on the materials covered in that particular section of the course.However, the final also will contain cumulative questions.The exams will consist of short-answer identification as well as essay questions.

If for any family or medical reason, you find it absolutely necessary to miss an examination, you must contact your DSL and the course instructor before the examination and have our consent to your absence if you wish to take a make-up exam.If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from contacting us before the exam, you must contact us within one week of the scheduled exam and present documentation to support your request for a make-up exam.

2.3 critical response papers (2-3 pages in length) to Ceilia, Nisei Daughter, and Lakota Woman (10% for each paper).Write brief essays that analyze these book for their relevance to the historical themes that are addressed in this class.1st drafts of the paper are due at the beginning of the discussion section on April 17, May 15, and May 29.Final versions are due by 4 p.m., the Fridays after the respective discussions.

Late papers will be deducted 1/3 of a grade for every day that it is late.All work presented in class or turned in must be a student's own.Plagiarism or any other form of academic misconduct will be dealt with in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the University's Committee on Academic Misconduct and will seriously affect a student's grade.

3.Attendance and participation (15%).Attendance in both the lectures and the discussion sections are required.Your DSL will provide more specific guidelines regarding your course participation.Remember, the success of this course depends upon your willingness to complete the assignments before class and being prepared to engage in discussion.

4.In-class (surprise) quizzes (10%).There will be periodic quizzes, given during the scheduled lecture times, covering the materials in the reading and the lectures.The quizzes will consist of identification as well as interpretative questions.

5.Group visual exhibit and presentations (15%).Each student is responsible for participating in a group project the final outcome of which will be a visual display of a primary source and a group oral presentation.The visual exhibits will be displayed at the Ohio Union Exposures Gallery, Rm. 236, and the presentations will take place during the last week of class.

Your primary source can be a document (newspaper article, speech, flyer, etc.), image, song, or even a material object.Be creative!The source should be something that directly relates to a theme or topic discussed in class.When you analyze the source, consider what it suggests about how female roles in the realms of family, work, politics, and/or culture have changed (or not changed) over time.During your presentation you should also discuss:

  1. what the source is
  2. who created it
  3. the reason for which it was created
  4. the context in which it was created
Class Schedule
March 31Introduction
The lectures will be available online at this website:www.history.ohio-state.edu/people/wu.287/325lectures2003
For username, enter:Hist325
The first password for the quarter will be:liberty

The password will change periodically and will be announced in lectures.

April 1Discussion Section

Begin reading

April 2The First American Women

Evans, ch. 1

April 3Discussion

WNE, pp. 11-14

April 7Women in the Colonies

Evans, ch. 2

April 8Discussion

WNE, selections ch. 1

April 9Women in the Republic

Evans, ch. 3

April 10Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 2

April 14Women's Sphere and Women's Labor

Evans, ch. 4

April 15Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 3

April 16Women and Slavery

April 17Discussion

Celia, 1st draft of Paper Due

April 18Final version due by 4 p.m.

April 21Abolitionism and Suffrage

Evans, ch. 5

April 22Discussion

WNE, selections ch. 4,5

April 23Midterm

April 24No Discussion

April 28The Gilded Age

Evans, ch. 6

April 29Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 6-7

April 30Women and Modernity

Evans, ch. 7

May 1Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 8-9

May 5The 1920s

Evans, ch. 8

May 6Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 10

May 7The Great Depression

Evans, ch. 9

May 8Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 11

May 12Women at War

Evans, ch. 10

May 13Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 12

May 14Women at War, Part II

May 15Discussion

Monica Sone, Nisei Daughter, 1st draft of Paper Due

May 16Final version of paper due by 4 p.m.

May 19The Cold War and the "Feminine Mystique"

Evans, ch. 11

May 20Discussion

WNE, selections, ch. 12

May 21"The Personal is Political" and the 1970s

May 22Evans, ch. 12, 13

WNE, selections, ch. 13, 14

May 26Memorial Day - no class

May 27No Discussion - free day to work on your group exhibits

May 28Video: Lakota Woman

May 29Discussion

Mary Crow Dog, Lakota Woman, 1st draft of Paper Due

May 30Final Version of Paper Due by 4 p.m.

June 2Presentations of group exhibits at Ohio Union Exposures Gallery, Rm. 236

June 3No Discussion

June 4Presentations of group exhibits at Ohio Union Exposures Gallery, Rm. 236

Senior finals due

June 5No Discussion

June 11Turn-in final and pickup exhibits at 1:30 at Exposures Gallery

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