HIST 205-01, Gender and American Warfare, Fall 2005

Abstract

While the study of wars has always proven to be a popular subject for students of American history, the use of gender in analyzing the causes and effects of these conflicts has only recently been an important focus in historians’ examinations of different conflicts. Wars in the history of the United States have been shown by different scholars to be crucial periods in the nation’s past when national gender norms were shattered, reformed, or reinforced. New studies have used gender to examine the origins of different wars and to understand the motivations of the soldiers who fought them. With this, the definition of what it means to be a “hero,” a “man,” or a “coward” have undergone great change, as soldiers were forced to reconcile mythic ideas of the “warrior-citizen” with the brutal actualities of armed conflict. Issues of men’s gendered roles in society, as well as their sexual orientation, in many cases had to be recreated by Americans to encompass the new understandings that soldiers’ experiences created during wartime. In addition, gendered notions about the proper roles of women in society were also greatly altered as the realities of the homefront forced Americans to rethink previously held beliefs of “women’s work.” This class will seek to illuminate the gendered implications that wars have had for American society and also to demonstrate the importance of using new perspectives to re-evaluate historical periods and events. By emphasizing the importance of gender in historical study, students will be encouraged to examine historical evidence critically in order to bring their own, fresh perspectives to the study of wars in American history.