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FIRST & SECOND WEEK

Welcome to H120 Online

The purpose of our class today is to introduce course organization and assignments, and then to address the themes of the first and second weeks' reading. This portion of the class is not "lecture" in a traditional sense, but rather an outlining of significant themes and questions, a companion guide to your reading. It is my hope that you can complete the reading in the first part of the week, address the guidlelines here, which we will discuss on the Bulletin Board in Blackboard. Mostly, I will be available for our class on Fridays, with official hours in the virtual office b/t 8 and 9 AM, but I will be adding hours, including some in the evenings. Bring to this page your own questions and ideas from reading--what would you add to the themes I have outlines here?

I.

Introduction to Class: Organization and Assignments

First of all, this class is based on reading, discussion, and the writing of answers to questions. Important to this class is the text, which includes both documents and interpretive essays on the past experiences of women in U.S. History. I hope you read the documents first, then try to interpret them for yourselves--how do these documents reveal the past experiences of women? To what extent were women powerful in their own lives?

In this class we will address the experinces of U.S. women from the colonial era to the present--a lot of time to cover. Think about the impact of time and place. To what extent does the status of women change over time, and in what periods do you find the most change taking place in the lives of women? Are particular groups of women affected more by change--or by continuities, than other women? What are the continuities in the experiences of women in the U.S.? Over time, does the condition and status of women improve, or do you find cycles of change and continuity?

I wanted to say a few words about the course requirements, which are more fully explained now on the "Requirements" page--take a look.

FIRST of all, Participation: Participation means answering 1 Assigned Question on the Bulletin Board, along with commenting to these postings at least 10 times during the term. I will assign each of you ONE QUESTION over the term, which you will answer on our Bb Discussion Board. Once the answers are posted, then others can post comments as well. In addition to your assigned question, you also receive participation points for commenting TEN TIMES thoughtfully to discussion board postings. These Discussion Postings should be in the form of argument and evidence--answer the question with your interpretation, backing up your points with examples, especially from the documents. (Further Explanation and Point Breakdown on the "Requirements" Page, as well as on our Discussion Questions, which will be up today.)

SECOND, quizzes: Quizzes will be based on reading, discussion, and class themes/ questions found on this FRIDAY LECTURE page. ONE extra credit quiz is posted to give you practice--you can take it as many times as you want until you get the full score. I will give you EXTRA CREDIT points for this quizzes, and the main objective here is to give you practice and a sampling of my questions.

The FOURTEEN other quizzes, on chapters 1 through 15, are 30 points each, and you will have from 15 to 30 questions and 30 to 45 minutes to answer them, depending upon the number of questions (to be posted). You will receive credit for TWELVE OF THESE FOURTEEN QUIZZES, allowing for any technical difficulties and web problems you may have.

THIRD, the Midterm Identifications and Essays: While the quizzes will test you on particular points from reading and class, the Midterm Essays are designed to help you think about the material, and to understand significance. The discussion questions will prepare you for these identifications and essays--along with material posted on the "Lecture" pages. For example, comparing the status of Native and European American women, which you will do in the next three weeks, will in turn help to prepare you for your Midterm essay.

The essay questions for the Midterms will be posted on Thursdays, and you will have until Midnight on Sunday to turn in your answers. The essays are designed as "in-class" exams. In other words, study the material, then access the question and sit down to write. I will grade them as "in class" essays rather than formal papers, so it is to everyone's advantage to take them in this way. I will be primarily evaluating the quality and thoughtfulness of your answers, as well as your points of evidence. Your essay should be coherent and clearly written, though again, I will be grading it as an exam that you sat down to write in an hour to an hour and-a-half.

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II.

Class #1/ Introduction to First Readings

Approaches & Native American Women

1-After reading the first section on "Approaches," then thinking about the questions here, make a list of FOUR QUESTIONS you find most important to ask about the historical experience of women living in the region that becomes the United States.

2-After reading the chapter on Native American women, think about theirsocial status. To what extent did Native American women have autonomy and power?

Except for the first chapter, these book chapters include documents, and then essays that are in part based on the documents you read. I suggest you FIRST read the documents on their own terms to consider what they reveal about the experiences of women. Then read the essays to find ways in which historians have interpreted these documents. Do you agree with these authors?

A. Approaches to the Study of Women in History

READINGS: Chapter 1: Approaches to American Women's History

In 2008, it is difficult to imagine history without women, yet so much of this field was developed in the context of the Women's Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The field of women's history developed with women's agency, with a movement organized by women--and men, to gain more power for women in society. As Gerda Lerner wrote, once it became clear that roughly half the population was missing from the history books, it was impossible to "go back."

The essays in this section outline the development of women's history as a field of study, and also raise important theoretical questions. These articles should help you form questions to ask of the various groups of women who we will meet in the following weeks. Below are some questions to help guide you through these articles--what questions do you think are MOST important to ask about the historical experiences of women? What points do you find most insightful? What questions do YOU want answered?

A. Kate Haulman, "Defining 'American Women's History'"--How did the field of Women's History develop, and what contemporary conceptual problems that have emerged from Women's History? What is "American Women's History"?

1-How did the field of Women's History develop? From "women worthies" to separate spheres, explain the different phases of focus seen in the field of women's history using the following examples--why did the focus of women's historians change over these years? Answer this question using the following examples: The history of "Great Men;" Eleanor Roosevelt; Clara Barton; Native and African American women; separate "female worlds;" "bonds of womanhood;" domestic worlds; the Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.

2-What are contemporary conceptual problems that have emerged from the study of Women's History? Address Male and female spheres; private v. public; socio-economic class; gender roles; race; ethnicity; identity; and culture.

B. Gisela Bock, "Challenging Dichotomies in Women's History '"--Bock asks questions that are helpful in any study of history, helping us to root out our assumptions. We have a tendency to "dichotomize" the experiences of people in the past--but for a moment, consider the complexities of your own lives. How would you want historians of the future to characterize your lives?

1-Summerize the dichotomies addressed by Bock--Nature v. Culture; Work v. Family; Public v. Private; and Sex v. Gender; Equality v. Difference, Integration v. Autonomy. Of the articles in this section, this is perhaps the most insightful in helping us to form questions about women's past experiences.

C. Antonia Castaneda, "Women of Color and the Rewriting of Western History" & Leslie Alexander, "Rethinking the Position of Black Women in American Women's History"--If women generally have been missing from history, this is especially true about women of color.

1-What does Cataneda say has most influenced the study of U.S. women of color? What does she say are the main points that should be considered, and what are (and have been) the obstacles to understanding the historical experience of women of color?

2-Compare the view of Alexander to that of Castaneda--what does Alexander find is the most important challenge in understanding the history of black women in U.S. History?

B. First Women

READINGS: Chapter 2: Native American Women

How do the following documents and essays reveal the status of Native American women in their own societies and in the colonial worlds created by the French and English in North America?

Much of the evidence we have for understanding Native peoples was written by Europeans. How do these documents reveal the experiences of Native American women? Are there problems in using these documents, and if so, what might they be? What are the strengths and weaknesses of using them?

What does Michele Gillepie say was the role of Mary Musgrove in the political conflicts between Georgia settlers and Native Americans, the Creeks?

What does Bruce White tell us was the role of Ojibwa women in the Fur Trade?

1-French Explorer Samuel de Champlain Describes the Lives of Huron Women and Men in the Great Lakes Region, 1616

2-Mary Musgrove Assists the Georgians in Dealing with the Choctaws, 1734

3-Mary Musgrove Seeks Aid from Georgia in Return for Past Service and Losses

4-Moravian Missionary John Heckewelder Observes Delaware Indian Families in the Mid-Eighteenth Century

5-Captive John Tanner in 1830 Recalls His Foster Mother, Net-no-kwa, an Ottawa, in the 1790s

Michele Gillespie, "Mary Musgrove and the Sexual Politics of Race and Gender in Georgia"

Bruce M. White, "Gender Roles in the Ojibwa Fur Trade"