Prerequisite: HIST 217 or 218 or by permission of instructor. (Course is offered every three years/ 3 credits)
This course explores the impact of historical events on the lives of American women and the varied roles women have played in shaping United States history from the colonial period
to the present. It will focus specifically on how class, ethnicity and race have influenced American women’s work, family life and organized activities. Topics include: Native American women’s lives; gender and family life under slavery; the impact of industrialization on women of different classes; the ideology of separate spheres; women’s political activities including the antislavery movement, the suffrage movement, the Nineteenth Amendment and the resurgence of feminism in the 1960s; and transformations in the lives of modern women including work, politics, sexuality, consumption patterns and leisure activities.