Course Syllabus

History 477 01 – Women in America

Lincoln University

Spring 2016

Instructor:  Dr. Debra Greene                               Office: 426 Martin L. King Hall

Phone:  681-5202                                                    Email:  greened@lincolnu.edu

Office hours:  9:00 – 11:00 TTH: 9-10:00 F                           

In this 16-week,  3 credit-hour  web-enhanced course, you will complete assignments and activities that are designed to give you a broad knowledge of  the social, cultural and political circumstances that shaped women’s lives and status in the United States from the colonial period to the present; and help you develop and practice skills to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

Course Goals

• To explore women’s status across cultural and historical periods
• To examine how women attempted to define, maintain and gain power in changing historical circumstances
• To inquire into women’s differences based on race, class and other factors
• To understand the extent to which women have been an integral part of the nation’s history
• To understand some of the political, social, and economic constraints imposed on women throughout the eras we cover
• To examine the ways women worked within and outside those constraints to shape their own lives, their families, and the nation’s

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

• Describe and place in chronological order major eras in United States history that impacted and shaped women’s social, cultural, and political lives in America and the United States (readings discussions, class project and presentation, chapter quizzes, timeline assignment)
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the subject using critical analysis on objective tests (chapter quizzes)
• Practice creative and critical analysis by written or oral responses to questions posed by incorporating textbook content and information gained from additional course readings (readings discussions and outlines)
• Develop improved reading, writing, and analytical skills (class project and presentation, reading discussions, chapter quizzes, timeline assignment)

Required Textbook

Ellen DuBois and Lynn Dumenil, Through Women’s Eyes: An American History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016)

Vicki Ruiz and Ellen Carol DuBois, eds. Unequal Sisters: An Inclusive Reader of U.S. Women’s History, 3^rd edition (Routledge, 2000), On Reserve in Page Library

 Learning Evaluations

 Chapter Quizzes – (120 points)

You will be responsible for 12 objective quizzes (10 points each) administered online in Canvas. Read the textbook chapters before attempting the quiz. Please be mindful of the deadlines. Chapter quizzes will not be made-up.

Choose one (1) – (100 points – 100 points written assignment; 24 points oral presentation)

• Virtual fashion show- track fashion trends (clothing, makeup, hairstyles) and explain what they reveal about gender roles and norms of the time period presented
• Write a paper on the evolution of important issues: divorce and divorce settlements; life of a widow; options for unmarried women; education for women; dating and courting practices; birth control methods; literature and magazines marketed to women; military service; the effects of industrialization on daily life or trace how a certain household chore changed over time. Other topics approved by the professor.

 Timeline of suffrage wins and losses - Explain what each event reveals about the suffrage movement. (50 points)

Readings in Women's History - students will read and outline  eight (8) articles in Unequal Sister: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History, 2000. (100 points)

 In-class Discussion – each student is responsible for contributing to the class discussion over the assigned readings. Discussion outlines to be delivered by deadline to Canvas dropbox. (100 points)

 Grade Scale:

A/494-445; B/444-395; C/394-346; D/345-296; F/295-247

  Tentative Schedule

Start	Activity		Description		Due
Jan 19	Course Intro		Review syllabus		Jan 19
			Review Canvas set up
	Lecture		What is Women’s History?
	Assignment		Read chapter 1 in Through Women’s Eyes (TWE)
Jan 21	Workshop		Using the Academic library workshop		Jan 21
			Dr. Cheryl Lawson
	Quiz		Chapter 01 Quiz		Jan 25
Jan 26	Lecture		Women’s Gender Roles and Status
	Assignment		Read Chapter 2 TWE
			Read “This Evil Extends Especially to the Feminine Sex” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Jan 28
	Quiz		Chapter 02 Quiz		Feb 1
Feb 2	Lecture		Colonial Women, 1607-1750
	Assignment		Read Chapter 3 in TWE
Feb 4	Film		A Midwife’s Tale, viewed in class		Feb 4
	Quiz	Chapter 03 Quiz		Feb 8
Feb 9-11	Lecture	Revolution and Republican Motherhood
	Assignment	Read Chapter 4 in TWE
		Read “To Earn Her Daily Bread” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Feb 18
Feb 16-18	Lecture	Cult of True Womanhood
	Quiz	Chapter 04 Quiz		Feb 15
Feb 23-25	Lecture	Moral Guardianship
	Assignment	Read Chapter 5 in TWE
	Quiz	Chapter 5 Quiz		Feb 22
Mar 1-3	Lecture	Womanly Strength of the Nation
	Assignment	Read Chapter 6 in TWE
		Read “To Catch the Vision of Freedom” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outine to Canvas dropbox		Mar 3
	Quiz	Chapter 6 Quiz		Feb 29
Mar 8-10	Assignment	Chapter 7 in TWE
		Read “Too Dark to be Angels” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Mar 10
	Quiz	Chapter 7 Quiz		Mar 7
	Film	Not for Ourselves Alone, viewed in class
Mar 15	No Assignment	SPRING BREAK WEEK		Mar 17
Mar 22	Lecture	Reordering Woman’s Sphere
	Assignment	Read chapter 8 in TWE
		Read “Black and White Visions of Welfare” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Mar 24
	Quiz	Chapter 8 Quiz		Mar 21
	Film	Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice		Mar 24
Mar 29	Lecture	New Woman
	Assignment	Read Chapter 9 in TWE
		Read “Women’s Suffrage around the World” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Mar 30
		Timeline of Suffrage wins and losses; upload to Canvas dropbox		Apr 7
	Quiz	Chapter 09 Quiz		Mar 28
Apr 5	Lecture	Great Depression
	Assignment	Read Chapter 10 in TWE
	Quiz	Chapter 10 Quiz		Apr 4
Apr 12	Lecture	World War II
	Assignment	Read Chapter 11 in TWE
		Read “Rethinking Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique” in Unequal Sisters; upload article outline to Canvas dropbox		Apr 21
	Quiz	Chapter 11 Quiz		Apr 11
Apr 19	Lecture	Back-to-Home Movement and the Feminine Mystique
	Assignment	Read Chapter 12 in TWE
		Read “More than a Lady”		Apr 28
	Quiz	Chapter 12 Quiz		Apr 18
Apr 26	Lecture	Contemporary American Women
May 3-5	Assignment	Projects and presentations		May 3-5
May 12		Projects and presentations		May 12

 POLICIES:

Attendance is mandatory.

Students are expected to attend all lectures, seminars, laboratories, and field work for each registered class. Attendance will be taken either at the beginning or the end of each class period.  Students who arrive after or leave before the attendance is recorded will be considered absent.   The total number of acceptable absences should not exceed twice (2x) the number of times a class meets per week (e.g., courses meeting three times/week: maximum of six absences acceptable; courses meeting 2 times per week: maximum of 4 absences acceptable; and courses meeting one time/week: maximum of two absences acceptable).  Students’ course grade will be dropped one letter after 5 absences.  Students who have missed more than 8 class sessions should drop the course.

  Absences will only be excused through an official communication by the Athletic Department, Military Science Department, Provost, or President and shall not be counted within this total. 

 Cell Phone and other Electronic Devices: Silence all cell phones and other electronic devices that can potentially create a distraction before lecture starts. Quietly leave the classroom before attempting to answer an incoming emergency call. If using an electronic device to take notes or record lecture, make sure the sounds are muted.

Students with Disabilities:  It is the policy of Lincoln University to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law.   Lincoln University is committed to providing equal opportunities to disabled persons in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Individuals are hereby notified that this institution does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in admission or access to or treatment or employment in its programs and activities.   Any student with a disability who needs an accommodation, for example in arrangements for seating, examinations, note taking, or access to events should inform the instructor and provide documentation from the University ADA at the beginning of the semester.

Services for disabled students, including the visually and hearing impaired, are coordinated through CCS.  Students requiring these services, should contact the University ADA Coordinator for further information at 304 Founders Hall, tel. # 681-5162.

Plagiarism: Any student found to have committed any acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to attempting to use or closely imitate the language or thoughts of another author without permission or by not crediting the original author, or other forms of academic dishonesty is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in the Lincoln University Undergraduate Bulletin, 2015-2017, Academic Dishonesty/Cheating, p. 68. 

 Communication: Course-related communication should occur by way of personal contact with the instructor. Alternatively, students may call and leave messages on the instructor’s voicemail or by sending the instructor an email, this however does not constitute personal contact. The instructor checks her email regularly during office hours.

 MoSPE Standards

This course is designed to help meet Missouri Teacher Standards which “convey the expectations of performance for professional teachers in Missouri.” In particular, students in this course will have the opportunity to gain competencies specified in the following MoSPE Standard and Quality Indicators:

 Standard #1: Content knowledge and perspectives aligned with appropriate instruction – The teacher understands the central concepts, structures, and tools of inquiry of the discipline . . . 
Quality Indicator 1: Content knowledge and academic language

Quality Indicator 3: Disciplinary research and inquiry methodologies

Quality Indicator 4: Interdisciplinary instruction

Quality Indicator 5: Diverse social and cultural perspectives