Gender and History (FGSS Gateway)
FGSS 269
Fall 2013
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
HIST 179, COL 323 |
| Certificates: Social, Cultural, and Critical Theory |
What is sex and gender in history? What defined maleness and femaleness in the past? Was there conceptual space for any other sexes? This history seminar for first- and second-year students explores what these terms meant in the Western tradition from the Greeks through the 17th century. It looks at current concepts and at the ways premodern scientists and theologians defined sex differences and sexualities. How were sexuality and sexual difference understood, and how did notions of gender shape broader ideas about the nature of human beings, their behavior, and their relationships? After surveying how masculinity and femininity emerged as ideas in the classical, Judeo-Christian, and Islamic worlds, we will focus on the gender system of the early modern period (1500-1750). What were the gender norms prescribed for this society? How were sex and gender identities negotiated in the actual lived experience of early modern people? We will examine the tensions within patriarchy through the lens of historical sources both descriptive and prescriptive. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS HIST |
| Course Format: Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (FGSS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Katherine Crawford, EUROPEAN SEXUALITIES, 1400-1800
Thomas Laqueur, MAKING SEX
Ian Maclean, THE RENAISSANCE NOTION OF WOMAN
Alexandra Shepard, MEANINGS OF MANHOOD IN EARLY MODERN ENGLAND
Joan Scott, "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis" and other selected essays
autobiographies of selected early modern men and women
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Examinations and Assignments:
Students will write several short papers on the assigned readings and a 10-page research paper with an oral report. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course counts as a gateway for the FGSS major, a history seminar in the College of Letters, and a sophomore seminar for the history major. |
| Instructor(s): Nussdorfer,Laurie Times: ..T.R.. 01:10PM-02:30PM; Location: WYL110; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 5 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: 10 | FR: 5 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 2 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 1 |
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