This course tells the story of the development of American society and economy from the revolutionary era to the eve of secession. The instructor is Steinberg. The U.S. Constitution promises that all persons are entitled to equal protection under the law. This course examines the ways in which consideration of gender have shaped the development of constitutional law and argument from the era of the American Revolution to the present. Attention is given to the vitality of coverture deep into the 20th century, to marriage as public policy, and to the gender implications in the development of policies governing taxation.
Students also consider vagrancy, jury service, and military obligation.
The instructors are Kerber and Cain. This course explores the social history of African Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces during the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the shifting meanings of race and racism, the struggle for domestic civil and economic rights, and international politics within the American military and society during this period. In addition to focusing on some of the major themes, controversies, and personalities of African American history, the course explores issues of race, gender, class, generation, and upbringing in terms of how they shaped the political and cultural contours of the black military experience during wartime and its immediate aftermath. Throughout the semester, students reexamine the historiography that has focused on the significance of the black experience in 20th-century wars in relation to the larger panorama of U.S. and world history. The instructor is Jefferson.