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Academic Year 2002/2003

The Politics of Sentiment
HIST 326 FA
Crosslistings:
WMST 326
AMST 326

This seminar examines the ways in which sentimental fictions mapped the terrain of social reform in 19th-century America and explores the relationship between narratives grounded in a sentimental aesthetic--one gendered feminine and often produced by women--and the transformation of the radical politics of the antebellum era into the genteel reforms of late Victorianism. Efforts by novelists to reshape popular attitudes and influence public policy toward disadvantaged groups will be juxtaposed to an analysis of the cultural empowerment that the production of such narratives conferred upon both writers and genteel readers.

MAJOR READINGS

Richard Bushman, THE REFINEMENT OF AMERICA Hazel Carby, RECONSTRUCTING WOMANHOOD Lydia Maria Child, HOBOMOK & OTHER WRITINGS ON INDIANS Frances E. W. Harper, IOLA LEROY Helen Hunt Jackson, RAMONA Harriet Jacobs, INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL Peggy Pascoe, RELATIONS OF RESCUE Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, THE SILENT PARTNER Samuels, Shirley, ed., THE CULTURE OF SENTIMENT Harriet Beecher Stowe, UNCLE TOM'S CABIN

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Students will be required to keep a journal and produce a substantial research paper or three shorter papers due at regular intervals during the term. A brief class presentation as well as regular participation in discussion will be expected of each student.

Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: NONE    Grading Mode: Graded   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-18-2003

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