HIST 457(S) Gender, Law, and Politics in U.S. History (Same as Women's and Gender Studies 457)
This seminar explores the legal history of the United States as a gendered system. It examines how women have shaped the meanings of American citizenship through pursuit of political rights and obligations such as suffrage, jury duty, and military service; how those political struggles have varied across race, religion, and class; and how the legal system has shaped gender relations for both women and men through regulation of such issues as marriage, divorce, work, reproduction, and the family. While we will read some court cases, the focus of the seminar is on the broader relationship between law and society. Readings will address not only the history of statutory law, and of the lawsuits and trials testing those laws, but also the social history of the impact of the law and the political history of efforts to change laws.
Format: seminar. Evaluation will be based on an extensive (20-25 page) research paper that makes use of primary and secondary sources, brief papers on the weekly readings, and class participation.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 15 (expected: 10-15). Preference given to senior History majors.
Group F
Hour: DUBOW