HIS 274 - Women’s History: United State

Credits: 3
Lecture Hours: 3
Lab Hours: 0
Practicum Hours: 0
Work Experience: 0
Course Type: General

1. Develop a foundation for the study of gender and feminism in the context of US women’s history.
   1. Define the term gender and identify the way it has been used historically.
   2. Define the terms women’s history, feminism, and gender/women’s studies.

2. Examine the prevailing gender roles and norms among Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans during the Colonial Era (1619-1763).
   1. Outline the place of women in the political and economic orders of early modern Europe.
   2. Detail various economic and social roles of early Native American women.
   3. Examine the rise of race-based enslavement and its effects on BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of color) and white women.

3. Analyze the various ways-political, religious, economic, military-that women participated during the years before and during the American Revolution (1764-1786).
   1. Identify the social, cultural, and economic roles women filled during the Revolutionary era.
   2. Examine restrictions caused by and challenges to patriarchal authority and gender-based laws during this time period.
   3. Review changes in access to property and freedoms for women, especially Native American, African women, and married women.

4. Analyze the various economic, social, political, and symbolic ways women experienced the new territorial expansion of the young United States during the Early Republic period (1787-1830). 
   1. Examine the place of women in frontier societies and economies.
   2. Identify the economic impact of the developing factory system on women.
   3. Describe the consequences of displacement for Native American women.
   4. Examine the way in which the system of chattel slavery specifically impacted women.  

5. Compare and contrast the economic and political strategies developed by women in different social circumstances during the era of reform and social movements (1831-1859). 
   1. Describe the roles, platforms, and accomplishments of women’s reform efforts and organizations.
   2. Examine the industrial transformations of the Market Revolution and the way in which they engaged women in new economic roles.
   3. Explain the expansion of the slave economy and the impact of that expansion on enslaved and free women.

6. Differentiate the political and economic philosophies of Southern and Northern women during the Civil War and Reconstruction era (1860-1877). 
   1. Compare the expanding military and civilian roles of women during wartime in light of traditional gender norms and expectations.
   2. Examine the impact that war had on women’s daily lives, including women living in war zones and newly emancipated women.

7. Characterize the development of the women’s suffrage movement with its organizations and tactics as well as the escalation of the Progressive era’s emphasis on education, reform, and laws (1878-1914). 
   1. Examine the women’s club movement and its role in empowering women to influence their communities.
   2. Contrast significant ideological and political positions within the women’s suffrage movement.
   3. Trace the role that women played in the labor movement, including the reforms that directly impacted women’s economic roles.
   4. Distinguish the impact that changes in immigration policies and patterns had on women in the United States.

8. Examine the roles of women during World War I and the Roaring Twenties (1914-1928)
   1. Examine the roles of women on both on the home front and in the war.
   2. Explain the changes to women’s roles and to social experiences and economic options available to women during the Twenties.
   3. Outline the establishment of women’s suffrage and the proposal of the Equal Rights Amendment.    

9. Explain the effects of The Great Depression and WWII (1929-1945) on women within the workplace and in the home as well as the particular effects that progressive legislation had upon women’s lives.  
   1. Analyze the impacts on women of the Stock Market crash and other economic hardships that resulted from the Great Depression.
   2. Examine the impact that New Deal policies had on women
   3. Evaluate the role that women played in World War II both at home and abroad.

10. Compare and contrast the conditions in the United States following World War II which led to the Cold War and to a Civil Rights movement for African American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian American women throughout the country from 1946-1967.
    1. Analyze changing conditions for women and men of multiple races and social classes within the workplace and within education.
    2. Examine changes in the domestic roles and expectations that women faced during this period.
    3. Review women’s participation in and opposition to the Civil Rights movement.    
    4. Trace women’s growing participation in formal politics as well as the development of advocacy groups focused on expanding women’s rights.
    5. Analyze the growing role of popular culture and consumerism and its impact on women’s experience.

11. Interpret the initial beginnings of a personal approach to the Women’s Liberation Movement from 1968-1977.  
    1. Evaluate the basic tenets and actions of the women’s liberation movement.
    2. Apply an intersectional perspective to the women’s liberation movement, analyzing its connection to other social movements of the time and evaluating the way that social categories such as race, class, gender, and sexuality interacted in the contexts of these movements.

12. Assess the aftermath of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the context of the end of the Cold War and the 20^th century (1978-2000).   
    1. Compare and contrast conservative and liberal/leftist activism in response to the pushback against reproductive rights that occurred in the 1980s.
    2. Analyze critiques of second-wave feminism and the development of third-wave feminism.
    3. Examine the changes in women’s legal, political, economic, and social roles.

13. Evaluate the main issues facing women in the United States in the 21^st century.
    1. Appraise the current economic and political situation of women in the United States.
    2. Review the current social and cultural situation of women in the United States.
    3. Assess how the social movements of the 21^st century continue to impact women in the United States.
    4. Analyze the interconnection of race, gender, class, sexuality, and other demographic factors that impact women’s experience in the United States.

14. Incorporate effective communication and critical thinking skills through writing.
    1. Define and interpret both primary and secondary sources.
    2. Create formal historical writing with a coherent argument.

 
Competencies Revised Date: 2020