Satisfies Social Science General Education Requirement

This course explores American women's engagement with the American political process over the course of the twentieth century, beginning in the years before women's suffrage. Through readings, discussions, and written assignments, we will address questions of women's political history including the following: In what ways did America's founding political ideas and institutions allow for the participation of women? How has this changed over time? On what grounds have women organized as a group? What political goals have women activists sought? How have class and race affected women's political identities? How is women's political activism best understood in relationship to the conventional political spectrum (left vs. right)? In what ways have women political activists affected political outcomes? What is the relationship of women's politics to feminism? Is "women politics" a useful concept?