This course traces the roles of women and men in various cultures around the world from ancient to modern times. Students read selections from literature and philosophy, look at art, discuss our own experience in the context of other cultures. This course focuses on the ways in which cultural patterns constrain and direct the roles of women and men. Topics emphasize a cross-cultural perspective on the interactions among sex, gender, and culture. The basic theme of this material concerns the extent to which both reality and perceptions of it are social constructs.
Style is loose and conversational.
Formal course work includes essay examinations and written project. In examining their fiction, as well as Wharton's and Hurston's autobiographies, we will consider their representations of gender, class, ethnicity, race, and the concept of individuality. We will also explore Wharton's, Hurston's, and Cather's responses to their public roles as women artists. This course surveys the legal, social and economic status of women from 1750 to the present. Developments in Europe and the United States are compared.