NOTE: This syllabus is available on-line at: http://home.millsaps.edu/~mcelvrs/women_2002.html Please consult the on-line syllabus for audio and video and for updates in the syllabus as the semester progresses.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
In this course, we will view the American experience from perspectives gained by the
field of women's history. Using works of literature, art, film, and music, as well as
more traditional historical sources, we will explore not only our main focus, the
experiences of women in America, but also the ways in which women's experiences
have differed from men's and the way the sexes have interacted with each other in
American history. We will look at how gender works as a social construction, and we
will also consider the ways in which gender interacts with other social categories--such
as race, class, religion, and sexual orientation--to shape identities and experiences.
We will move chronologically through American history, exploring several different kinds of women's history at each stage: women achievers or "great women"; women's contributions to American history; women's status in American society and the struggle for women's rights; and women's separate culture and consciousness; and the new categories that the study of women's experiences causes us to add to history's existing categories.
Journals
The journal is central to the course. It will have a two-way relationship with the
discussions, both preparing students for class discussions and providing a vehicle for further reactions to points that have been
discussed in class.
In their journals students are asked to interact with the
readings, films, and classes. You should ask questions about
what you read, see, and hear, and ponder (in writing) possible
answers. Journal entries should demonstrate both that you have
read the assignment (or seen the film or kept up with what was
being discussed in class) and that you are thinking about what
you read, see, and hear.
A journal is a diary of your thought processes. After a session of reading, after a class
discussion, or after a film or music listening session, you should sit down and simply start writing
about your most dominant or curious impressions, just as in a diary you might review or comment
upon the day's events. By its nature, a journal may ramble, because you may have no idea what
you are going to say when you begin writing. The act of getting words and ideas on the page will
help you discover what your most important concerns are in the course.
Although the instructor will, in fact, be grading your journals, what you write is primarily
for your own use, both during the course and in the future. You will want to keep your journals from this course, since they will
constitute a record of your thoughts during what we hope will be
an interesting period of your lives. You need not worry about
shifting topics, contradicting yourself, losing sense or being
unconvincing. Correctness of language and problems of spelling
should not even cross your mind (unless, of course, you want
them to be a concern). Just put down
your first reactions and explore them until you have worked them out fully.
The journal will work for you only if you make it a habit. If you wait for the spirit to
move you before you pull out the journal, many of you will not use it
very much. The best way to establish real discipline is quite simply to set aside 15
minutes or so after each reading session, class, and film. You may not always get
done in that time, but at least you will know that it is a part of your routine.
Doing your journal in the proper spirit will make you a better reader, viewer, listener, and
thinker; it will also prepare you to participate more fully in class discussion and enable you to
raise issues that really concern you.
* Obtain a notebook that you use only as a journal for this
course. This should be separate from the place where you
take notes in class.
* Date each entry and keep up with the assignments right from the start.
* Begin your journal immediately, with entries on this week's readings, films, and discussions.
* Journals should contain at least one entry for each of the reading assignments (several
on each novel) and one for each film. Refer to a substantial number of specific points,
using quotations where helpful; question these points and comment on them.
In addition to comments on the readings and films, journals should
also contain comments on some points that come up in class discussions.
Journals will be collected for comments and grading at unannounced times during the
semester.
Since your journal is to be used, among other purposes, to help
stimulate class discussion, students are required to bring their journals
with them to each class. In order to ensure that they are being kept up
to date, the days on which they will be collected for review by the
instructor
will NOT be announced in advance.
Discussions
Class meetings will emphasize discussion, combined with some lecture. On
occasion, the class may divide into smaller groups for more discussion. Attendance at all class meetings is expected. It is also expected that reading assignments
will be completed before the class meeting for which they are assigned. A diversity of viewpoints
is welcomed in class discussions. Students should bring up in class any questions they have from
the readings. Absences in excess of THREE will adversely affect a student's grade.
Absences in excess of SIX may result in failure of the course.
The purpose of this course is to allow us to examine the experiences of women
and men in the American past (and to see ways in which this past is related to the
present). The objective is to think and talk about why things happened as they did and
what they mean. It is expected that students will attend all classes. It is also
expected that reading assignments will be completed before the class meeting for
which they are assigned. There is no one "right" way of interpreting literature or
history. A diversity of viewpoints is welcomed in class discussions. Students should
bring up in class any questions they have from the readings, films, and other class
materials.
Tests
There will be two tests in the course, in addition to a final exam.
Films
Twelve feature films will be shown as an essential part of the course. These
will be shown on Wednesday evenings (see Course Outline) at 7:00 PM in SH-221.
Attendance at these films is expected.
Average of Journal grades 40%
Average of 3 Test Grades 40%
Participation in class discussion 20%
Millsaps College is an academic community dedicated to the pursuit of scholarly inquiry and
intellectual growth. The foundation of this community is a spirit of personal honesty and mutual
trust. Through their Honor Code, the students of Millsaps College affirm their adherence to these
basic ethical principles.
An Honor Code is not simply a set of rules and procedures governing students' academic conduct.
It is an opportunity to put personal responsibility and integrity into action. When students agree to
abide by an Honor Code, they liberate themselves to pursue their academic goals in an atmosphere
of mutual confidence and respect.
The success of the Code depends on the support of each member of the community. Students and
faculty alike commit themselves in their work to the principles of academic honesty. When they
become aware of infractions, both students and faculty are obligated to report them to the Honor
Council, which is responsible for enforcement.
The pledge signed by all students upon entering the College is as follows:
As a Millsaps College student, I hereby affirm that I understand the Honor
Code and am aware of its implications and of my responsibility to the Code. In
the interests of expanding the atmosphere of respect and trust in the College, I
promise to uphold the Honor Code and I will not tolerate dishonest behavior in
myself or in others.
Each examination, quiz, or other assignment that is to be graded will carry the written pledge: "I
hereby certify that I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment.
(Signature)" The abbreviation "Pledged" followed by the student's signature has the same meaning
and may be acceptable on assignments other than final examinations.
It is the responsibility of students and faculty to report offenses to the Honor Code Council in the
form of a written report. This account must be signed, the accusation explained in as much detail as
possible, and submitted to the Dean of the College.
Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience:
A Concise History, 2nd edition (W&AE)
Barbara Perkins, Robyn Warhol, and George Perkins, eds, Women's
Work: An Anthology of American Literature (WW)
Susan Ware, ed., Modern American Women: A Documentary History,
2nd Edition (MAW)
Course Reader for "Women (and Men) in America"
One current issue of any women's magazine, such as Redbook, McCall's,
Cosmopolitan, Glamour, etc.
OFFICE Christian Center, Room 28 Hours: Tuesday, 3:00-4:15 PM; Thursday, 3:00-4:15
PM and at other times by appointment.
Collage of Scenes from Class Skits
MUSIC: Aretha Franklin, "Natural Woman" (1973)