Course

20803230 Women in History
Course Information
Description
Introduces students to women's history, specifically the various roles played by and assigned to women in western societies and focusing on the question of how and why women's lives have changed during the past thirty centuries. Students will examine women's experiences and their images in the past by analyzing the lives of selected notable women as well as broad categories of women, e.g. prostitutes, peasant wives, noblewomen, feminists. The traditional historical periods covered include the Ancient (Greece, Rome), the Medieval (Europe) and the Modern (Europe and the U.S. since 1500).
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies (Course Outcomes)
  1. Explore the nature of women's history
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    examine the origins and purposes of women's history
    analyze the sources, methods, and terminology of women's history
    explore the various philosophies and approaches used in women's history

  2. Analyze women in ancient societies in the West
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    examine how the organization of society can influence the status of women using warrior societies in the ancient world
    identify roles played by and assigned to women in ancient Greece
    compare various perceptions of women in Greek society in art, literature, and philosophy
    examine the roles played by and assigned to women in Roman society and how they change over time
    identify sources of change in women's lives or status throughout the ancient societies
    generate conclusions about the nature of marriage in Greece and Rome
    evaluate male perceptions of women in Greek and Roman society

  3. Analyze women in early Christianity
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    explore what the early Christian perceptions are about women
    examine what roles women played in the development of Christianity
    assess the situation of women in ancient society
    draw conclusions about the traditions regarding women in ancient societies

  4. Analyze women in medieval European society
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    explore the situation of women in early to high medieval society in order to identify the changes and the sources of change in women's roles and status
    examine women's roles in the three major orders of medieval society: warrior class, peasant class, and the Christian church
    generate conclusions about the nature of marriage in medieval Europe and especially the impact of Christianity on medieval marriage
    examine economic views affecting women in the middle ages
    explore specific medieval women as examples of the three orders: Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hildegarde of Bingen, and Christine di Pisan

  5. Analyze women in the early modern period
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    compare the different experiences between men and women during the Renaissance
    evaluate the impact of the concept of courtly love
    examine the changes in ideas in education for women
    examine the changes in women's roles in the early modern period: what were they and what caused them (e.g., economic changes, Protestant Reformation, cultural philosophies about men and women)
    examine the gender dimension in the witch hunt craze

  6. Analyze the women question in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    determine how women's roles are redefined in this period
    compare the theories about women's roles in the writings of Mary Wollstonecraft and Jean Jacques Rousseau
    determine connections between women's roles and social class in the nineteenth century
    analyze major changes in women's lives and how they happened in the nineteenth century
    examine the impact of industrialization on women
    examine the first wave of feminism
    examine how women worked to achieve changes in rights and legal status, e.g., the suffrage movement

  7. Analyze how women's roles are defined in the twentieth century
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay
    Criteria
    determine the impact of war and revolutions on women's lives in the early twentieth century
    identify lifestyle changes for women
    assess the impact of new technologies on women's lives
    summarize the condition of women in the last half of the twentieth century
    evaluate the second wave of feminism
    examine the relationship between women and the state in the late twentieth century

  8. Write about historical topics
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay and/or Research Paper
    Criteria
    employ primary and secondary sources
    comply with the conventions of standard written English
    present information which directly addresses historical issues
    organize thoughts logically and coherently

  9. Analyze historical materials
    Assessment Strategies
    Essay and/or Research Paper
    Criteria
    break apart a specific time period or concept into economic, social, political, and cultural elements
    draw conclusions
    make inferences
    connect information to ideas
    employ techniques of visual and auditory analysis

  10. Use elements of research
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product
    Criteria
    find appropriate resources
    incorporate research into written work appropriately
    compile a bibliography
    support a thesis with sufficient evidence
    document sources using standard academic documentation