HISTORY OF AMERICAN FEMINISM
|
Social movements dedicated to
women's equality developed in the mid-19th century and again in the
1960s in this country. This course will trace and compare the development
of these two movements or waves of feminism, exploring their ideologies
and political strategies. One of our main goals will be to explain the
connection between feminist ideas and activities and the larger historical
context within which they grew and were shaped. Specifically we will
look at the changing positions taken by feminists on such issues as:
motherhood, sexuality, race, class, work, relationships with men, domestic
arrangements, religion, and social justice to understand the similarities
and differences between the two waves of American feminism. We will
also trace the internal ideological debates that complicated the visions
and hampered the political achievements of these movements and the external
political & cultural obstacles that they fought to overcome.
|