History 259: American Women’s History
University of Illinois at Chicago
Fall 2013
Professor Amy Schneidhorst
Office location: 904 University Hall
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursdays 10-11 am. Or by appointment.
Talk with me before or after class to make appointment to meet with me.
Course Summary: This course will survey women's roles throughout U.S. History. Special emphasis will be
placed on the construction of gender through work and family. We will assess women’s evolving political and
social influence through both individual and collective action. The influence of race, ethnicity, and status on
women will also be explored through an analysis of primary documentation.
Course Objectives:
1)
Identify the dynamic of historical continuity and change within U.S. Women’s History.
2) Define gender and clarify its interaction with racial, ethnic, and status differences throughout U.S. Women’s
History.
3) Define sexuality and the social, economic, and political context out which sexuality is created and operates
within American Society.
4)
Identify and critically analyze individuals who have contributed to changing women’s status in U.S. History.
5)
Identify and explain movements that have contributed to changing women’s status throughout U.S. History.
6)
Analyze the role that American law has played in defining woman’s position in American society.
7)
Explain the role of American institutions in defining women’s role in American society.
8)
Differentiate between primary and secondary sources in U.S. Women’s History.
9)
Locate sources pertinent to U.S. Women’s History in the college library and on the internet.
10) Identify evidence used to create and support an argument and conclusion in historical writing.
11) Write essays that demonstrate use of primary and secondary documents, analysis of evidence, organization,
and correct citations.
Required Texts
Ellen Carol DuBois and Lynn Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History (Boston and New York:
Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012) Third Edition.
Kent, Susan, Gender and History (Palgrave MacMillan, 2011) ISBN: 978-0-230-29224-6
Additional media sources listed in the syllabus schedule below.
Journal/Discussion (20 % of overall grade) Each week, at the end of Tuesday’s class, students will turn in a
journal covering the assigned readings. The journal is your brief, clearly presented response to the reading
materials. The assignments will be typed, double-spaced, and consist of two paragraphs which must total 1 full
page. The first paragraph will explain what you find most interesting in the assigned class materials; the second
paragraph will express questions for further exploration or research. We will use these mini-writing assignments
as a starting point for our class discussions. An informed response to the week’s readings is expected and will
play a part in the student’s final grade. Journals are worth 10% of your grade. Discussion/Participation is worth 10
%. See assessment criteria at end of syllabus. This is an all or nothing deal. Failure to participate on a regular
basis will earn the student zero credit for participation .)
Wikipedia revision project. (30% of overall grade) This class will participate in Wikipedia’s United States
Education Program. You will be using what you have learned from course readings, class discussions, and research
to contribute to and to improve Wikipedia content related to the course subject matter. Groups are encouraged
to consider revising a project related to a women’s history topic relevant to Chicago or the Midwest. Over the
course of the semester, students will work in groups of 3-4 on the following assignments:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Identify relevant Wikipedia article.
Compare Wikipedia articles to other relevant sources.
Choose an article to improve.
Study and critique the article to identify what you will contribute.
Present and submit your contributions.
This syllabus is open to change and revision.
The instructor will inform students of any changes.
Date
Week 1
Aug 26-30
Week 2
Sept 2-6
Week 3
Sept 9-13
Reading Assignments
Tuesday: Introduction and Evaluating Wikipedia Article Quality
Thursday: America in the World: to 1650
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 1
Susan Kent, Gender and History, pp. 1-27
Colonial Worlds, 1607-1750
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 2
Susan Kent, Gender and History, pp. 66-85
Mothers and Daughters of the Revolution, 1750-1800
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 3
Notices
Film: Midwife’s Tale
Library Research
workshop this week
Relevant articles due
Tuesday
Week 4
Sept 16-20
The Middle Class, Separate Spheres and Domesticity; The Market
Revolution and Wage Earners, and Enslaved Women
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 4
Week 5
Sept 23-27
Reform, Civil War, and Reconstruction
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 5 and 6
Comparison Due
Tuesday
Week 6
Sept 30Oct 4
Women in an Expanding Nation, 1890s
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 7
Midterm Questions
handed out Thursday
Week 7
Oct 7-11
The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage
Review Suffrage sections in DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 5, pp. 273-278;
Ch. 6, pp. 322- 326; Ch. 7, pp. 409-433; Ch. 8, pp. 473-479, 489-500
Rebecca Edwards, “Pioneers at the Polls: Woman Suffrage in the
West” (Blackboard)
Women and Progressive Era Reform, 1900-1920
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 8 (sections other than suffrage)
Glenda Gilmore, “Forging Interracial Links in the Jim Crow South”
(Blackboard)
Week 8
Oct 14-18
Tuesday: Film: Iron
Jawed Angels
Thursday: Exam
Themes
-Domestic Progressive
Reform movements:
how different classes
and races of women
approached reform.
-International
Networks: Suffragists
and Pacifists find
common cause.
Week 9
Oct 21-25
The 1920s:
Change and Continuity, 1920-1945
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 9
Vicki Ruiz, “The Flapper and the Chaperone: Mexican American
Teenagers in the Southwest” (Blackboard)
Week 10
Oct 28 Nov 1
Beyond the Feminine Mystique , 1945-1965
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 10
Daniel Horowitz, “ Betty Friedan and the Origins of Feminism in Cold
War America”
Week 11
Nov 4-8
Modern Feminism, 1965-1980
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 11
Gender, Work, and
Politics from the 1920s
The contraception
revolution, the
emergence of a teen
culture.
– World War II.
Youtube “Rosie the
Riveter: Real Women
Workers in World War
II”
Critique and outline of
contributions due
The Cold War,
Domesticity, and
women’s activism in
the Doldrums
Feminist Movements
and Reproductive
Rights
Newspaper series on the Chicago-based Jane underground abortion
service (prior to the legalization of abortion by Roe v. Wade in 1973)
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUFeature/Janearticles.html
Week 12
Nov 11-15
Week 13
Nov 18-22
Week 14
Nov 25-29
Video: From the Back Alleys to the Supreme Court & Beyond: Part 1
“From Danger to Dignity: The Fight for Safe Abortions.” (Concentric
Media)
Identity Politics and Conservative Backlash
Jennie V. Chavez, “It has taken . . . a long time . . . Mexican –American
Women;”
“Women in the Asian Movement,” and “The Combahee River
Collective.” (Blackboard)
US Women in the Global Age
DuBois and Dumenil, Ch. 12
Hillary Clinton, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights;” and Judith
Resnick, “ Sisterhood, Slavery, and Sovereignty,” (Blackboard)
Group Presentations this week
Week 15
Continue with Group projects as necessary and Going Live on
Dec 2-6
Wikipedia
Finals Week Dec 9-13
Conflict of the ERA
Nov 28-29
Thanksgiving Holiday
Course Expectations: It is my educational
philosophy that each of us is responsible for her/his
own education; the role of the professor is to guide
and facilitate learning, not to tell students what (or
how) to think. All opinions and ideas are encouraged
in this class; it is never expected that students will
agree with everything they read, see or hear.
Students will not be evaluated on their opinions but
on their ability to analyze and evaluate situations
and concepts and express their own opinions clearly
and thoughtfully. Critical thinking and articulation of
disagreements and difficulties are encouraged.
GRADES will be earned through the following
components, each of which will be assigned a letter
grade:
Journal/Class Participation
20%
Wikipedia Project
30%
Midterm exam
20%
Final exam
30%
There are no opportunities for “extra credit.”
NOTE: Makeup assignments are accepted only in
cases of documented hardship or emergency.
LATE POLICY: Late work is strongly discouraged.
However, late is better than not at all. Work will
depreciate in value one letter grade for each
school day it is late, beginning at 2 p.m. on the
day it is due, unless otherwise noted. All work is
due at the time noted in the schedule.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: You are adults and should
make your own choices about attending class; do
remember that any choice we make comes with
consequences. If you miss a class, you are
responsible for finding out what you missed (from
a friend or during my office hours) and for making
sure that you get copies of handouts, worksheets,
etc. Please do not e-mail me and ask, “did I miss
anything?”
E-mail guidelines: When you communicate with
your instructors, whether by e-mail, by phone, or in
person, you are engaging in a professional
exchange. Also, please note that I only check my
e-mail two or three times each school day. Give
me at least one full school day (24 hours, M – F) to
answer any e-mail message—I typically do not
check my campus e-mail on weekends.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: I have absolutely no
tolerance for plagiarism or cheating. Please note
that “plagiarism or cheating” includes (but is not
limited to) the following:
1. quoting from a source without citing that
source and/or without using quotation marks
2. paraphrasing from a source without citing that
source
3. falsifying data
4. turning in someone else’s work as your own—
this includes (but is not limited to)
a. copying another’s work from a quiz or
assignment
b. turning in work that someone else wrote for
you
c. using on-line or hard copy paper mills
5. turning in your own work that was written for
another course, without prior permission.
Violations of the UTB academic integrity policy will
result in an automatic failing grade in this course.
ABOUT ASSIGNMENTS
GENERAL
all out-of-class written work must be typed.
double-spaced, with 1” margins all around
your name and page numbers must be on every
page
no cover page
all out-of-class written work must use correct
grammar, spelling, and writing conventions
all work must be proofread and corrected
before submitted—if you need help with this,
please contact the Writing Center
it is absolutely imperative that you always keep
a copy of anything that you turn in for class!
it is also very important that you keep all graded
work for all your courses until you have
received your semester grade report (in case
there is a mistake in your grades)
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
A written assignment must have:
a clear thesis or thesis idea (explicitly stated or
implied)
all the parts of an essay (intro, body paragraphs,
conclusion)
a point (a reason to read it)
an audience (your audience is your classmates,
unless otherwise stated in the assignment)
specific examples in every paragraph, which
uphold the thesis idea
good grammar and spelling.
Each paper will be graded on the basis of the
following (in addition to the above):
does it address the topic, accurately and
thoughtfully?
does it analyze and evaluate, rather than simply
describe, the topic?
does it demonstrate academic writing ability?
does it demonstrate your ability to use course
theories and concepts correctly?
does it directly use/cite course
readings/materials?
does it show that you have thought through the
assignment carefully?
does it meet the assignment criteria (length,
format, etc.)?
was it turned in on time (late work earns lower
grades)?
PARTICIPATION
participation consists of regular attendance and
productive participation in class discussions
and in-class activities
A = almost perfect attendance and almost never
late; active and substantive participation in
class discussions, explicitly about the
materials assigned for that day or unit,
involving obvious critical thought and making
connections to other materials or examples;
avoidance of “side” conversations in class;
leadership role in group activities and
discussion; professional interactions with
others in class, even when disagreeing
strongly, and in all communications with
EXAMS
exams are designed to reward students who
keep up with the readings all term and who
think critically about the issues raised in class
exams will cover all assigned materials, all inclass activities and texts (including videos,
class discussions, and group activities)
exams are largely essay format, with the
possibility of some short answer questions
professor; inattention to cell phones and
other electronic devices during class
B = almost perfect attendance and almost never
late; consistent participation in class
discussions and activities, even when
confused or struggling with ideas;
professional behavior in class (including not
carrying on “side” conversations and not
being rude) and in all communication with
professor; inattention to cell phones and
other electronic devices during class
C = consistent attendance with full preparation of
course materials but little to no verbal
participation in discussions unless required;
professional behavior in class and in all
communications with professor; consistent
“follower” role in group activities; OR
consistent enthusiastic participation in
discussions and activities, with no explicit
evidence of full preparation of course
materials; professional behavior in class and
in all communications with professor;
inattention to cell phones and other
electronic devices during class
D = frequent lateness or absence; unprofessional,
rude, or inappropriate behavior in class or on
the discussion board (including, but not
limited to, doing homework for other classes,
reading newspapers in class, attending to cell
phones, “side” conversations, etc.)
F = missing class; disruptive or hostile behavior in
class or on the course discussion board