Introductory description

This second year module will take a thematic approach to US women's history (with a broadly chronological lecture structure), exploring the ways in which American women have seized, been barred from or contributed to power throughout the nations' history. It will also address key themes such as class, race, religion and ethnicity, proximity to power and activism as a woman's place. This module will span US History from female settlement in 1608 at Jamestown to the 21st Century and will discuss early modern and modern women's history.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The below themes and weekly topics are indicative examples and may not reflect the final curriculum and any changes that may need to be made year-on-year.
Term One
2. Women and Power
3. Women’s History
4. Religion
5. Weird Women
7. Resistance
8. Education
9. Feminism I
10. War
Term Two 1. Adventure 2. Domesticity 3. Activism 4. Proximity to Power 5. Sex 7. Work 8. Conformity 9. Feminism II 10. Backlash Term Three 1. Representation 2. Money

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand how US women have gained, lost and seized power throughout US history.
• Critically analyse historical writing about women and identify what has been included, what/ who has been left out and why.
• Identify the ways in which women access political arenas regardless of place or status, the implications of these actions and the factors that shape inclusion and exclusion.
• Understand the origins of women's history as a field and the impact this has had on the histories available.
• Improve study, research and communication skills, including writing for alternative audiences.

Indicative reading list

Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin, Women and Power in American History (2009); Linda K. Kerber et al, Women's America: Refocusing the Past (2019); Melissa E. Blair et al, American Women's History: A New Narrative History (2023); Emily West, Enslaved Women in America: From Colonial Times to Emancipation (2014); Rebecca Hall, Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts (2021); Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale (1990), Well Behaved Women Seldon Make History (2007); Theda Purdue, Sifters: Native American Women's Lives (2001); Ruth Milkman, Women, Work and Protest: A Century of US Women's Labour History (2013); Jennifer Helgren, American Girls and Global Responsibility (2017); Sara M. Evans, Born for Liberty (1989); Mary Beth Norton , Separated by Their Sex: Women in Public and Private (2011); Elizabeth Griffin, Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality, 1920-2020 (2022); Winifred Gallagher, New Women in the Old West (2021); Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (2011); Nancy Hewitt, ed., A Companion to American Women's History (2005); Nancy Shoemaker, ed., Negotiators of Change: Historical Perspectives on Native American
Women (1995); S.J. Kleinberg, Women in the United States, 1830-1945 (1999); Louise M. Newman, White Women’s Rights: The Racial Origins of Feminism in the United States (1990); Amanda H. Littauer, Bad Girls: Young Women, Sex and Rebellion before the Sixties (2015); Helen Horowitz, Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women’s Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930’s. ( 1984); Linda K. Kerber, Toward an Intellectual History of Women (1997); Barbara Solomon, In the Company of Educated Women (1985); Stephanie Y. Evans. Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History (2007); Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in TwentiethCentury America (2012); Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America (1986); Donald T. Critchlow, Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman’s Crusade (2005); Kirsten Marie Delegard, Battling Miss Bolsheviki: The Origins of Female Conservatism in the United States (2012); Lisa McGirr, Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right (2002); Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy (2018); Rebecca Jo Plant, Mom: The Transformation of Motherhood in Modern America (2010).

Research element

See Assessment.

Interdisciplinary

This module draws together an understanding of women's history with an engagement with politics and power dynamics.

International

This module will focus on the history of the USA.

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes

Transferable skills

Use a range of tools to conduct second year appropriate primary and secondary research. Develop strong analytical and evaluation skills. Further develop critical thinking skills. Communicate clearly and effectively in small and large group discussions, and in writing for multiple audiences. Find and showcase small histories alongside more well-trodden ones. Engender and develop digital research skills.