HISTORY OF U.S. WOMEN TO 1890

(History 4467-01 W for Undergraduate Students)

Instructor: Cita Cook Spring Semester 2005

Office: 3210 TLC (678-839-6037) email: ccook@westga.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday, 2:00-5:00 Wednesday, 3:30-5:00

Other times, by appointment

Class Meetings: Monday, 5:30-8:00, 206 Pafford

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will learn basic developments in the history of American women to 1890. In their exams and other assignments, they will demonstrate the ability to analyze what women, as individuals and in groups, did to affect the development of the United States and its cultures, what problems they faced, what they did to try to overcome those problems, and how this all varied for women in different circumstances.

This course is offered as part of the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program. The writing components of this course are designed to help students learn both the material and how to communicate what they have learned to other people. Most of the writing required for this class (mainly weekly comments sheets, homework assignments, and the exams) will involve Writing to Learn. The two essays that are assigned will involve Writing to Communicate. Students will have the opportunity to rewrite at least one of those essays and possibly other assignments to improve their grade AND their writing.

TEXTBOOKS

Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience, Third Edition

Nancy Woloch, Early American Women: A Documentary History, 1600-1900

Harriet A. Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, edited by Jean Fagan Yellin

There will also be frequent handouts of other readings, some for all students and some only for graduate students. It is highly recommended that everyone find and review regularly the information in any fairly recent textbook covering the history of the United States to 1890 as all students will be expected to be familiar with the most significant developments in U.S. history that set the context for what is covered in this class.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

I. Class Attendance, Participation, and Short Assignments - 10% of the semester grade

A. Class Attendance: Classes will involve a combination of lectures, discussions, and occasional videotapes. Some of the information and ideas of the course will be presented or explained only in class, so you should take some notes during the lectures. Regular attendance is required. If you have to miss a class, you are responsible for discussing with me whether it is excused and for arranging to get any handouts, to find out what was covered in class, and to make up any missed assignments. In most cases, you can find any new assignments on the class website, but the extra reading handouts will not be available on-line. You should average at least six hours of study a week for the class (two hours for every hour in class). If you are doing this and still feel confused or overwhelmed, please make an appointment to meet with me or to discuss your concerns by telephone. Too often instructors find out too late about problems that could have been solved fairly easily with earlier notification.

B. Weekly Reading and Comment Sheets: Each assignment will include a list of study questions and identifications to indicate what you should be learning from the reading and what you need to study for the tests. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER THE STUDY QUESTIONS IN WRITING and I do not have time to correct attempts to do so. If you are not sure of the answer to any of the questions, please ask about them in class and/or in your weekly comments. The assignment sheets will include a list of the basic developments in American history that you need to know to understand the reading. If they are unfamiliar to you, refer to any basic text in American history and only then, if necessary, ask about them. The class discussions will be conducted on the assumption that everyone has read all of the reading assigned for that day. Ask any questions or say what you had trouble understanding, but always be prepared to present some kind of reaction to the reading.

Everyone is required to hand in a Comment Sheet each week, indicating briefly what you consider the most significant points in the reading, any thoughts you have about the material covered in the reading and in class, and/or any questions you have, including any positive or negative reactions to the reading or class. Prospective teachers may add thoughts on how you might teach the material we have covered that week. Although the comment sheets will not be graded, THE CREDIT YOU RECEIVE FOR PARTICIPATION WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER OR NOT YOUR COMMENT SHEETS SHOW THAT YOU HAVE DONE THE READING. They should not, however, include a lot of specific information. Try to emphasize your own ideas about the information. The comment sheets will be handed back so you can receive feedback from me and use them for review.

C. Short Assignments: There may be a few short graded homework assignments. This includes a family history due on January 24 that is explained on a separate sheet.

II. Extra Credit Points

You can receive up to three extra credit points for your final semester grade by writing reports on activities that teach you more about the history such as approved movies, lectures, or museum exhibits, but only about activities you have done this semester. There will be a special sheet listing some recommended extra credit activities and explaining what needs to be done to gain the credit. I reserve the right to determine if any report is or is not worthy of extra credit.

III. Essays - 30% of the semester grade

Two 4-7 page essays (typed, unless you have special permission) will be assigned, one on at least five primary documents (due February 28) and one on the book by Harriet Jacobs (due April 18). You will receive a handout with specific directions and WAC requirements at least two weeks before each essay is due.

Every spring the History Department awards the Elizabeth L. Parker Prize for the best paper on the history of Georgia, with an award of $100. Students who wish to submit a paper for this award may substitute for the essay on Moody’s book a research paper of 10-30 pages on the history of women in Georgia before 1890 based on an approved list of at least four primary and four secondary sources, one of which must be a journal article. Students earning an A or B on this paper will also receive some extra credit toward the semester grade. Anyone wishing to do such a paper should make an appointment within the first two weeks of the semester to discuss a possible topic and to be given more specifics of the requirements set by the contest.

IV. Open Book In-Class Essay - 10% of the semester grade

On February 7, you will answer during the last hour of class an essay question using any books or notes that you wish. This is to give you a chance to gain feedback on the kinds of essay questions that will be asked on the (closed book) exams.

V. Exams - 50% of the semester grade

There will be a two hour midterm (on March 7) and a final examination (on May 9) based on both the reading and the class lectures. The final exam will include some choice between questions covering the whole semester and questions covering just the second half of the semester. The exams will not require any specific information that was not covered in the study questions, but you may have to think about the information in a new way. Each test will involve a combination of identifications (only ones listed on the weekly assignment sheets) and essay questions of varying lengths. If you miss a test because of a validated excuse and prior permission of the instructor, you are responsible for arranging a time to make it up.

VI. Academic Honesty

All academic papers or presentations submitted at the State University of West Georgia should reflect only the work of the individual student seeking credit for the work. This does not mean that students should not study together, only that they need to work alone when doing the final version of an assignment. Any use of the ideas, information, or words of anyone else, including paraphrasing of their words and ideas, without crediting them is plagiarism and is a crime. A direct quote of the words (even only a few words) of someone else must be in quotation marks as well as have a note of its source. Any clear evidence of plagiarism or any other kind of cheating on a test or any other graded assignment (after consultation with the student) will result in a permanent zero for that assignment. See the section on Academic Honesty in the Catalog or Uncatalog.

SCHEDULE

This schedule is tentative. Pay attention to the weekly assignment sheets and class announcements for any changes, as well as for the details of what you are expected to read. The numbers before the dates below refer to the numbers for assignment sheets that will be covered on a particular day.

January 10 - Introduction

January 17 - MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HOLIDAY (No class)

1. January 24 - Native American Women

FAMILY HISTORY DUE

2. January 31 - Early Colonial Women

3. February 7 - Puritan Women and Dissenters

IN CLASS OPEN BOOK ESSAY (the last hour of class)

4. February 14 - Eighteenth Century American Women

5. February 21 - Women in the American Revolution and the Early Republic

6. February 28 - “True Womanhood”

ESSAY I DUE

March 7 - MIDTERM EXAM

7. March 14 - Antebellum Working Women

SPRING VACATION - NO CLASS ON MARCH 21

8. March 28 - Antebellum Women Reformers

9. April 4 - Antebellum Southern Women, Slave and Free

10. April 11 - Women and the Civil War

11. April 18 - Postbellum Women

ESSAY II DUE

12. April 25 - Late Nineteenth Century Woman Reformers

13. May 2 - Late Nineteenth Century Suffrage Movement

May 9 - FINAL EXAM