Connections 23005. Women in the United States
These seven connected courses focus on women in the United States, addressing the intersections of gender, race and class in U.S. history, in U.S. social structures, and in U.S. literature and literary theory. Students may combine them in a variety of ways to create two- or three-course connections with different emphases, exploring the history of women, the positioning of women in current society, or the representations of women in gendered discourse, past and present.
Students might, for instance, trace African American women’s resistance to the dominant culture in history and in literature. They could examine the relationship between women and industrialization in both economics and history. Or they might explore how theories of psychological development play out in literary representations.
More specifically, students taking ENG 247, PSY 290 and HIST 234 will address body image in a novel by Toni Morrison, in psychological work on anorexia, and in discussions of beauty in the 1920s. Students taking HIST 233, ENG 377 and ECON 241 will discuss “woman’s sphere” and the politics of domesticity in 19th century novels, drawing on the domesticity engendered by household economies. Seven courses from three different areas (history, humanities, social science) may be combined to create two- or three-course connections.
A two-course connection must link courses from at least two different areas; a three-course connection must link courses from three areas.