RESEARCH SEMINAR: WOMEN AND GENDER IN THE U.S. SOUTH
 HISTORY 410     SPRING 99
Instructor:   Dr. A. McCandless
Office:   327 Maybank Building
Telephone:  953-8025 or 953-5711
E-mail:  mccandlessa@cofc.edu
Web: https://www.cofc.edu/~mccandla/amym.htm
Hours: 11-12 noon MWF, 2-3 pm TR
or by appointment
 

Course Content
Students will examine the role of gender, class, race, and region in explaining the social, economic, political, and cultural circumstances of women in the U. S. South.  Readings, films, and discussions are designed to illustrate the myths and realities of Southern womanhood from the colonial period to the present.

Course Purpose
A research seminar is designed to give students the opportunity to "practice" history; i.e., to conduct original research using primary sources, to engage in historiographical debate, to present arguments in oral and written contexts, and to revise work in response to external criticism.  The product of this historical research will be a 20-30 page analytical paper on some aspect of women's and gender history in the U.S. South.

Required Readings
Clinton and Gillespie, The Devil's Land: Sex and Race in the Early South
Fox-Genovese, Within the Plantation Household: Black and White Women of the Old South
Hagood, Mothers of the South: Portraiture of the White Tenant Farm Woman
Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History
Handouts as provided
Web sites as indicated

Written Assignments
The major written assignment will be a 20-30 page (5,000-7,500 words) analytical research paper on some facet of women's and gender history in the U.S. South.  See Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History for format.  Each student will discuss her/his paper topic and thesis with the instructor during an individual conference on February 11 or 16.  A statement of the thesis (a one-sentence explanation of what you intend to prove in your paper) and an annotated bibliography on the topic will be presented to the class and turned in to the instructor on February 23.  A topical outline delineating the issues to be explored in developing your thesis should be turned in by March 16.  The first version of the paper will be due on March 30.  Bring two copies (one for the instructor and one for a classmate to critique).  Students will exchange papers, and readers will discuss the drafts with the authors in class on April 6.  The second draft is due on April 15.  Students will present their papers to the entire class on April 22 and 27.  Final papers (including annotated bibliography, outline, first and second drafts, student and instructor critiques) are due on or before 4 p.m. on May 4.  Late papers will be penalized one letter grade for each day tardy.

The completed paper should be between 20-30 typewritten pages (exclusive of endnotes), double-spaced in 12-point font (either Times Roman or Courier) with one inch margins, and documented in the humanities style using consecutively numbered endnotes.  Papers should include at least five primary sources and at least ten secondary sources.  All material taken from a specific source, whether paraphrased or quoted, must be cited in the endnotes (See Benjamin, A Student's Guide to History for format).  Because you will make substantial revisions between the first and final versions of your paper, you MUST type your work on a word processor.

Papers will be assessed on both form (organization, style, clarity, citations, bibliography) and content (nature and proof of thesis and subsidiary arguments).

History majors and minors will also write their reflective essay for their portfolio during the seminar.  See Reflective Essay Worksheet for details.

Class Participation/Attendance
Class participation and regular attendance are essential to the success of the seminar.  Both the quality and the quantity of your remarks will be considered when computing final grades (i.e., you do not get "points" for talking on a subject when you have not read the assignment).  Students will be expected to read the assignments, to lead discussions on the readings, to present portions of their own research to the class, and to critique the work of their classmates.

Grading
Final grades will be based on class discussions of readings (35 percent), annotated bibliography (10 percent), topical outline (10 percent), presentation of individual research materials (10 percent), and research paper (35 percent or 10 percent for each draft and 15 percent for the final version).

The grading scale is as follows: 90-100 = A; 86-89 = B+; 80-85 = B; 76-79 = C+; 70-75 = C; 60-69 = D; 0-59 = F.
 

 SYLLABUS--HISTORY 410

Date              Topics/Readings/Assignments

Jan 14            Course Introduction; Historical Methodology
                      https://www.cofc.edu/~mccandla/usweb.htm
                      https://gen.com/ani/hermks.htm

Jan 19            Southern Distinctiveness
                      McCandless, "Introduction: The Past in the Present"

Jan 21            Sex and Race in the Early South
                      Clinton and Gillespie, The Devil's Lane, xiii-34
                      Sign-up sheet for individual chapters
 
Jan 26            Discuss: The Devil's Lane, 39-153
 
Jan 28            Discuss: The Devil's Lane, 154-266

Feb 2             Local Library Resources; Visit SC Historical Society

Feb 4             Discuss: "Southern Women, Southern Households"
                      Fox-Genovese, Within the Plantation Household, 1-99
                      Sign-up sheet for individual chapters

Feb 9             Discuss: Within the Plantation Household, 100-396

Feb 11           Student conferences to select paper topic; no class

Feb 16           Student conferences to select paper topic; no class

Feb 18           Slide Lecture: Women in South Carolina History
 
Feb 23           Student Presentation of Theses
                      Thesis statement and annotated bibliography due

Feb 25            Media Stereotypes: Gone With The Wind
 

Mar 2             Gone With The Wind
 
Mar 4              Gone With The Wind

SPRING BREAK

Mar 16           Student Presentations of Topical Outlines;
                      Topical outlines due (bring two copies to class)

Mar 18           Student Presentations of Topical Outlines
                      Sign-up sheet for individual chapters of Hagood

Mar 23           Discuss: Hagood, Mothers of the South, iii-127

Mar 25           Discuss: Hagood, Mothers of the South, 128-246

Mar 30           Media Stereotypes: The Color Purple
                      First draft of papers due (bring two copies to class);
                      Student assignments of paper critiques

Apr 1             The Color Purple
                      Work on critique of classmate's paper

Apr 6              Discussions of paper critiques
                      Critiques of classmate's paper due; first drafts returned

Apr 8              Media Stereotypes: Steel Magnolias

Apr 13             Steel Magnolias

Apr 15             Women and Gender in the Contemporary South
                        Second draft of papers due

Apr 20             Write reflective essays
                        Bring student portfolio to class; second drafts returned

Apr 22             Student Presentations of Papers

Apr 27             Student Presentations of Papers

May 4              Final Papers Due
                        Turn in final paper along with annotated  bibliography, outline, first and second
                        drafts, student and professor critiques by 4 p.m.
 

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