WOMEN IN EARLY AMERICA

Prof. Ruth Herndon

University of Toledo

"History will inform you, that men have done much more mischief in the world than women." (Philip Dormer Stanhope [Earl of Chesterfield], The Elements Of A Polite Education. [1801], 80.)

"No collective portrait of colonial women can emerge as long as our knowledge of European women in the colonial period remains so much deeper, broader, and more particular than our knowledge of Indian or African-American women." (Carol Berkin, First Generations: Women in Colonial America [1996], ix.)

Goals of the Course. To understand how women's history provides a critically important corrective to the traditional view of the past. To understand the extraordinary cultural diversity among women in early America. To understand the common experience that connects early American women to women in every place and time.

Content of the Course. This course focuses on the historical experience of Native American, European American, and African American women who lived between 1600 and 1860. Instead of progressing through chronological "eras" of history, we will study three major themes in human experience: (1) Dislocation: Women and Community; (2) Work: Women and Family; (3) Ideas: Women and Self. Over the semester, we will explore these themes in the lives of women who represented very different cultural, economic, social, and religious groups.

Methodology of the Course. Lectures will occupy part of our class sessions. Student discussion and paper presentations will occupy the other part. Outside of class, you will be reading assigned material, writing essays, and making "field trips" to places that will illuminate some aspect of the lives of American women in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. In your reading, your field trips, your discussions, and your essays, you will be taking on the role of historians, investigating the past and teaching yourself about women in early America.

Course Requirements. There are four general areas of work: assigned readings; exams; papers; and class participation.

Readings. The required readings (listed below) will lay the foundation for your learning in this course. I expect each student to prepare for class by reading the required material beforehand. These readings will equip you for class discussion, for paper assignments, and for exam questions. Thus, attention to the readings is essential to your success in the course.

Exams. There will be three exams, one at the completion of each course theme. Each exam will be connected to the paper for that theme, and you should consider the paper and exam a joint project. You will receive a detailed preparation sheet one week prior to each exam.

Papers. You must write three short papers, each about four or five pages long. The papers ask you to respond to the major themes of the course by analyzing different kinds of historical evidence. For the theme of Dislocation, you will study "documentary evidence"--interrogations of poor women in eighteenth-century Rhode Island. For the theme of Work, you will study "material evidence"--historic artifacts used by women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For the theme of Ideas, you will study "artistic evidence"--pictorial representations of women in early America. Each paper is explained in detail in the course packet.

Class participation and paper presentation. Your attendance and participation are critical to your success in this course. During the classroom sessions, I will present material that is not found in your readings and you will be expected to participate meaningfully in small group

discussions. In addition, you will be expected to make an oral presentation on one of your papers to the rest of the class.

Required Readings. The books below are required reading for this course. All are available for purchase in the UT bookstore.

Maryse Conde, I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem (1994)

A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, ed. June Namias (1995)

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard (1990)

Melton A. McLaurin, Celia, A Slave (1993)

Course packet of primary documents compiled by Prof. Herndon

Extra Credit. If you find you are not satisfied with your paper and exam grades, you may do other projects to improve your grade. You must clear these projects with me beforehand. I am open to creative suggestions and I encourage you to connect any extra credit project in this course with other courses you are taking.

Determination of Final Grade. Your course performance will be weighted as follows:

Exams: 45% (15% each)

Papers: 45% (15% each)

Class participation: 10%

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week Topics Covered in Class Readings you should have completed

Assignments due

Week 1 Course Introduction

Studying early American women Packet, 2-12

THEME 1:

DISLOCATION--WOMEN AND COMMUNITY

Migrations Packet, 13-36

Week 2 Native seasonal migrations

Westward expansion

Transient women

Frontier Societies Martha Ballard, intro through chap 4

Packet, 37-44

Week 3 Indian, white, and black Women Presentation sign-up

in Englisn colonial societies Presentation sign-up

Collision of Cultures Packet, 45-51

Week 4 European culture in America

War Mary Jemison, all

Week 5 Women on the home front

Women in battle

Women following armies

Week 6 Paper presentations

Exam No. 1 Paper No. 1 Due: Transients

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week Topics Covered in Class Readings you should have completed

Assignments due

THEME 2:

WORK--WOMEN AND FAMILY

Household Labor Martha Ballard, chap 5 to end

Packet, 52-60

Week 7 Traditional domestic work

New forms of domestic labor

Paid Labor Packet, 61-64

Week 8 Indentured servitude

Female market labor

Slavery Celia, all

Week 9 In the field

Week 10 Paper Presentations

Exam No. 2 Paper No. 2 Due: Historic Site

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week Topics Covered in Class Readings you should have completed

Assignments due

THEME 3:

IDEAS--WOMEN AND SELF

Religion Packet, 65-67

Week 11 Native women as converts

Social Reforms Packet, 68-74

Week 12 Antislavery

Cultural Dissent Tituba, all

Packet, 75-80

Week 13 "Heresy" and "witchcraft"

Week 14 Paper Presentations Paper No. 3 Due: Artwork

Prof. Herndon's philosophy of teaching history

My view of a history course: I view an undergraduate history course as an opportunity to introduce twentieth-century students to people from the past. My goals are (1) to help you imagine what it was like to live in another time; (2) to challenge you to form an opinion about the meaning of past events; and (3) to enable you to see both sides of important historical issues.

My view of the classroom: I view the classroom as a place for students to formulate and freely express their opinions about this country's history. I try to keep you thinking about historical issues and events through short lectures, general discussion, small group assignments, and oral

presentations of your work. I believe you will learn from each other as well as from the course texts, lectures, and assignments.

My view of the course syllabus: I view the course syllabus as a contract between instructor and student. The syllabus explains how I will administer the course, what I require from you, how I will evaluate your work, and when/how I am available to meet with you. Barring catastrophic illness or other emergency, I will follow what I have stated in the syllabus.

What it means to be a student in this course

By taking this course, HIS 4980/5980, "Women in Early America," I understand that I am forming a contract with Prof. Ruth Herndon and the other students in the class. By remaining in the course, I am indicating that I will actively participate in the course. I will not be just a name on the roster; I will be a serious student.

As a student registered for HIS 4980/5980: "Women in Early America," I understand that my part of the bargain is to work at learning American history. I intend to do the following:

! attend classes faithfully and participate meaningfully in discussions;

! keep up with the course readings to the best of my ability;

! complete all paper assignments, including the art museum and historic site field trips;

! make an oral presentation of one of my papers to the class as I have signed up for it.

If I find that I am unable to fulfill the requirements of the course because of unexpected circumstances in my life, I will notify Prof. Herndon promptly by letter, phone, e-mail, or in person, and I will withdraw formally from the course.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have read the above statement of "What it means to be a student in this course." I understand and I accept the terms and conditions described.

_______________________________________ ________________

Your signature Date