WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
VIRTUAL CAMPUS
SCHOOL OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
FALL 2011
Wayland Baptist University exists to educate students in an academically challenging, learning focused,
and distinctively Christian environment for professional success and service to God and humankind.
COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: HIST 5340 Studies in Ethnic and Gender History: American women
TIME AND LOCATION: online August 15-October 29, 2011
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Estelle Owens
owensest@wbu.edu; 806-291-1171 (office)
806-296-7820 (home)
OFFICE HOURS: 1:30-4:00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
Anytime via email
CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Selected topics and issues in the history of women and ethnic minority groups;
may be repeated when the topic changes.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: major problems in American women’s history from the colonial period to the
20th century, with special emphasis on historiography and primary sources available in this field
PREREQUISITES: graduate standing; proficiency in reading/writing.
TEXTBOOK AND RESOURCE MATERIALS: Janet Coryell and Nora Faires, A History of Women in America,
ISBN: 978-0-07-287813-4. Copyright 2012. Excerpts from other scholarly books, journal articles, and
primary source readings will be posted online for all students.
OUTCOME COMPETENCIES: At the conclusion of this class, students will understand and be able to
--describe the major political, social, and economic issues that have affected women in
American history
--analyze and account for differences between the lives of women of color and the majority of white
women
--show how and why women’s lives have changed over time
--explain the scholarship associated with the study of American women
ATTENDANCE: Attendance and participation in this course are essential to students’ success. Active
participation is the key to effective learning. A student who is “absent” from the discussion board and
group activities more than 25% of the time may receive an F in the course.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it
is the policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any
educational program or activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as the
coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation requests
at (806) 291-3765. Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for accommodations.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to have the necessary background knowledge and
appropriate skills needed for success in a graduate class. The quality of work on exams and all written
assignments should be substantially higher than at the undergraduate level. Specific requirements are
listed below.
Readings/videos: In addition to the textbook, additional scholarly articles, excerpts from major
historical works, and primary source materials will be available through Blackboard. Occasionally, the
week’s resources will include a video as well.
Class discussions: Students will take turns in leading the discussion for weekly analytical questions, but
all students need to participate as actively as possible. Each discussion will remain open for two weeks.
Tests: There will be midterm and final essay exams to be submitted online.
Bibliographical essay: In week nine, students will submit a bibliographical essay in which they describe
and analyze a minimum of 20 scholarly sources—books, portions of books, videos, and/or journal
articles--on a particular topic in the history of American women. The topics must be approved in
advance, and students will consult with the instructor for any assistance needed in shaping the thesis
statement and/or for finding scholarly sources. Students will cite their sources in accordance with the
Turabian (Chicago) style manual. Students should be very careful about judging the quality of both
online and hardcopy sources; many are not scholarly in nature and are written for a pop audience.
Avoid at all costs using such sources as Wikipedia or Encarta, which are no more than online
encyclopedias, written for a fifth-grade reading audience. Anyone who uses one of these sources will be
sent immediately to the most repressive, gender-biased society around to live out his/her life as a
household servant to the chief bigot.
GRADE: The final course grade will be computed based on the following formula:
Bibliographical essay:
30%
Discussions:
30%
Exams:
20% each
The University has a standard grading scale as follows: A = 90-100 (an excellent performance for the
graduate level); B = 80-89 (good performance); C = 70-79 (barely acceptable performance); D = 60-69
(unacceptable at the graduate level; results in academic probation); F = below 60 (unacceptable; results
in suspension from the graduate program); W = the student withdrew from the course before the
deadline; WP = the student withdrew passing before the deadline; WF = the student withdrew failing
before the deadline); and I = incomplete. A grade of “incomplete” is given only if circumstances beyond
the student’s control prevented completion of work during the semester enrolled and any attendance
requirements have been met. A grade of “incomplete” is changed if the deficiency is made up by
midterm of the next regular semester; otherwise, it becomes F.
INSTRUCTOR’S POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Academic dishonesty will result in a grade of zero
for that exam or assignment. No make-up work will be allowed to replace this score. The message here
is DON’T DO IT. I may not catch every instance of dishonesty or be able to prove it, but that doesn’t
make a cheater any less a cheater, a liar, and a thief. Plagiarizing all or any part of the bibliographical
essay, failing to give proper credit for the words or thoughts of someone else, and failing to cite them
correctly according to Turabian, will result in a zero. At 30% of the course grade, that guarantees that a
student will fail the course and thereby be suspended from graduate school. The penalties are far too
stiff to risk it. Any general questions about how to cite sources and the material taken from them
should be asked on the discussion board so that all can benefit from the answers. Questions specific to
you alone should be emailed to the instructor.
INSTRUCTOR AVAILABILITY: I am available to help with any questions about the material, or finding
sources, or how to cite them properly using Turabian. The Writing Center staff is also available and
anxious to be of assistance.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week one: Aug. 15-21
Women in the colonies
chapters 1-2, pp. 1-86 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week two: Aug. 22-28
Revolutionary women
Chapter 3, pp. 89-130 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week three: Aug. 29-Sept. 4
Women in the new nation
Chapter 4, pp. 131-173 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week four: Sept. 5-11
Antebellum America
Chapter 5, pp. 174-206 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week five: Sept. 12-18
Civil War/Reconstruction
Chapter 5, pp. 207- Chapter 6, p. 238 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week six: Sept. 19-25
Gilded Age
Chapter 6, pp. 239-266 + excerpts in Blackboard
MIDTERM EXAM DUE BY MIDNIGHT CENTRAL TIME SEPT. 25
Week seven: Sept. 26-Oct. 2
The New Woman
Chapter 7, pp. 267-314 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week eight: Oct. 3-9
The 20s, Depression, and WWII
Chapter 8, pp. 315-361 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week nine: Oct. 10-16
Postwar America
Chapter 9, pp. 362-407 + excerpts in Blackboard
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY DUE BY MIDNIGHT CENTRAL TIME, OCTOBER 16
Week ten: Oct. 17-23
Feminism
Chapter 10, pp. 408-458 + excerpts in Blackboard
Week eleven: Oct 24-29
End of century
Chapter 11, pp. 459-520 + excerpts in Blackboard
FINAL EXAM DUE BY MIDNIGHT CENTRAL TIME OCT. 29