Summer 2005
ENL 3910
Constructions of Gender in Early American Literature
Curtis
(This course meets online using WebCT CRN 30246)
In this course, we'll investigate how a wide range of
conceptions of masculinity and femininity were constructed in Early
American Literature. Among the questions we'll be
investigating are: How did various groups of people in North
America try to define what a 'man' and a
'woman' were supposed to be? When and why did
certain ideas of 'the gentleman' and 'the
lady' appear? What special pressures did frontier life put
on the constructions of gender? How do certain events--the Salem
Witchcraft trials, religious Great Awakenings, the
Revolution--serve as important indicators of both local and more
widespread notions of masculinity and femininity? How were violent
encounters between races used to create and/or subvert popular
ideas about gender? How are the humorous writings of Early America
an especially good barometer of attitudes toward gender? Units
include 'Sects and Gender,' a discussion of the
influence of several peculiar religious situations on gender
construction in British North America; 'Ladies and
Gentlemen on the Road,' a discussion of travel literature;
'Revolutionary Sentiments' --how political,
cultural, and literary revolutions both challenged and reinforced
inherited notions of gender; 'Sex and the City,'
discussions of how gender was imported/ refashioned in cities
during the Early National period; and we conclude with
'Portrait of the Artist as Traveler of
Sensibility,' a fairly in-depth look at Washington
Irving's Sketch Book.
This course will be taught completely online using WebCT, and will
last the whole summer session. The largest percentage of the course
grade will be determined by your contributions to our class
discussions, but there will also be an exam and a researched
project. Contact Dr. C at curtisd@mail.belmont.edu or at 460-6307
for questions about the content and/or format of this course.
