WOMEN IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Rowan University, Fall 2008
M/W 9:25–10:40
Dr. Melissa Klapper
klapper@rowan.edu x3982
Welcome to the exciting, fascinating, surprising, and complex history of women and gender in
America. During the course of this semester, we will study women’s experiences in America
from the earliest period of colonization until the present day. We will cover a wide range of
topics and pay special attention to the intersections of gender, race, class, and ethnicity.
As a 400-level course, this class requires a serious commitment of time and energy. We will
work especially hard on sharpening critical reading skills. The best way to approach the reading
load is to keep up with the syllabus. You are expected to complete each day’s reading before
coming to class. During most class meetings, there will be exercises based on the readings,
ranging from pop quizzes to role-playing activities. Participation in classroom discussion and inclass activities will form an important part of your grade.
The course combines lectures, discussions, in-class writing, small group work, and audio-visual
presentations. You are expected to incorporate all of these materials and experiences into tests
and written assignments.
Attendance is mandatory. Please contact me in advance if you must be absent. More than three
unexcused absences will result in an automatic reduction of your final grade of one grade point
per additional absence (e.g., from B+ to B).
Required Texts
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Herland.
Jacobs, Harriet. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Norton, Mary Beth and Ruth Alexander. Major Problems in American Women’s History. 4th
edition.
Rosen, Ruth. The World Split Open: How the Modern Women’s Movement Changed America.
2nd edition.
Woloch, Nancy. Women and the American Experience: A Concise History. 2nd edition.
Assignments and Class Requirements
You will write three papers for this class. Two of them, due September 22 and November 12,
are brief (3-4 pages) position papers based on primary source readings. In the first position
paper, you will present an argument about the impact of the American Revolution on women. In
the second position paper, you will present an argument about full legal equality for women as
defined during the 1920s. You have two options for the third paper (5-6 pages in either case).
If you choose to write about Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the paper, due October 8,
should consider the intersection of race and gender in Jacob’s narrative and life experiences. If
you choose to write about Herland, the paper, due November 5, should consider the impact of
Gilman’s class identity on her vision of a utopian society of women. We will discuss all these
assignments in further detail.
1
In addition to writing the papers, each of you will make a brief (5 minutes) biographical
presentation to the class. Although it will be clear throughout the semester that we are far
removed from the days of studying only the “great women” of American history, there is still
value in taking a closer look at the lives of individuals. The dates for the presentation will be
determined by random draw, but you are free to choose any subject for the biographical sketch
who is appropriate for that day’s readings.
There will be a final exam for this course. The final exam will consist of two essay questions.
One will ask you to write about Rosen’s book The World Split Open in relation to either the
Jacobs or Gilman texts, whichever you have not already written a paper about. The other will
address some of the larger themes of the course.
If you have problems with an assignment, please talk to me before the assignment is due. You
must hand in all assignments to receive a passing grade for this course. Plagiarism of any kind
constitutes grounds for immediate failure.
Your final grade will be based on the following plan:
Participation
10%
Quizzes
10%
Biographical presentation
10%
Position papers (2)
30%
Jacobs/Gilman Paper
20%
Final exam
20%
Course Schedule (subject to change)
The readings assignments listed for each date should be completed before class that day.
W 9/3
Introduction to course
M 9/8
MP, Chapter 1, “Approaches to American Women’s History,” Haulman, Bock,
and Alexander essays
W 9/10
Woloch, Chapter 1, “The Seventeenth Century: A Frontier Society”
MP, Chapter 4, “The Economic Roles of Women in the Northern Colonies,”
documents only
M 9/15 MP, Chapter 3, “Witches and Their Accusers in Seventeenth-Century New England,”
documents and Demos essay
W 9/17
Woloch, Chapter 2, “The Eighteenth Century: The Eve of Modernity”
M 9/22 MP, Chapter 5, “The Impact of the American Revolution,” documents and Norton and
Jones essays
first position paper due (3-4 pages)
W 9/24
Woloch, Chapter 3, “Promoting Woman’s Sphere, 1800-1860”
2
M 9/29 handout, Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, “The Female World of Love and Ritual”
MP, Chapter 6, “Women’s Activism in the Early Republic,” documents and
Jeffrey essay
W 10/1
no class–Rosh Hashanah
M 10/6 Woloch, Chapter 4, “Benevolence, Reform, and Slavery, 1800-1860”
W 10/8
Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
paper option due (5-6 pages)
M 10/13
Woloch, Chapter 5, “Women at Work, 1860-1920”
W 10/15
no class–Sukkot
M 10/20
MP, Chapter 9, “Women in the Trans-Mississippi Frontier West,” documents and
González essay
W 10/22
no class–Simchat Torah
M 10/27
Woloch, Chapter 6, “The Rise of the New Woman, 1860-1920”
W 10/29
MP, Chapter 10, “Women’s Work and Work Cultures in Modern America, 18901920s,” documents and Bender essay
M 11/3 Woloch, Chapter 7, “Feminism and Suffrage, 1860-1920”
W 11/5
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland
paper option due (5-6 pages)
M 11/10
Woloch, Chapter 8, “Cross-Currents: The 1920s”
W 11/12
MP, Chapter 10, “The ‘New Woman” in Public Life and Politics, 1900-1930,”
documents and Sklar and Gilmore essays
second position paper due (3-4 pages)
M 11/17
Woloch, Chapter 9, “Emergencies: The 1930s and 1940s,” pp. 300-321
MP, Chapter 12, “Women in American during the Depression and New Deal,”
documents and Tone essay
W 11/19
Woloch, Chapter 9, “Emergencies: The 1930s and 1940s,” pp. 321-335
MP, Chapter 13, “Women and The Disputed Meanings of Gender, Race, and
Sexuality During World War II.” documents and Matsumoto essay
M 11/24
MP, Chapter 14, “Women and the Feminine Ideal in Postwar America,”
documents and Meyerowitz essay
3
W 11/26
Woloch, Chapter 10, “High Expectations, 1950-1975”
M 12/1 Ruth Rosen, The World Split Open, pp. xi-xvi, 63-226, 263-294
W 12/3
MP, Chapter 15, “Second-Wave Feminism in America, 1960-1990,” documents
only
M 12/8 Woloch, Chapter 11, “In Search of Equality: Since 1975”
W 12/10
Rosen, The World Split Open, pp. 345-376
MP, Chapter 16, “Women, Social Change, and Reaction from the 1990s to the
New Millenium,” documents only
4