First-Year Writing Seminar - American History (102-8-22)

Topic

Sex, Pregnancy, Law, and Medicine in Nineteenth-Ce

Instructors

Katherine Masur
847/491-2849
Harris Hall - Room 202

Meeting Info

Annenberg Hall G28: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Sometime during the fall of 1857, a young single woman from rural Vermont discovered she was pregnant. There seemed no possibility she could marry the man involved. What happened next involved multiple family members, train travel, and a legal and medical controversy that tore apart a community. This class will use a "microhistory" approach to explore how nineteenth-century Americans understood sex, pregnancy, contraception, and abortion, and how these issues reverberated in the arenas of law and medicine. Students will gain significant experience analyzing primary sources and piecing together historical narratives. As this is a First-Year Writing Seminar, the class will also discuss practices of writing in college, and students will have ample opportunities to write and revise.

Learning Objectives

In addition to learning about the history of sex, pregnancy, contraception, and abortion in the United States, students will practice the skills of historians: asking questions of primary sources, using scattered evidence to develop accurate narratives, and writing clearly and effectively. The first-year writing seminars focus on the fundamentals of effective, college-level written communication.

Evaluation Method

Short writing assignments, longer writing assignments, oral presentation.

Class Materials (Required)

Materials will be posted on Canvas

Class Notes

Concentration: Americas

Class Attributes

WCAS Writing Seminar

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Only History majors and minors can currently enroll in this class.