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HIST 305-01, Topics in History: Women in Early Modern Europe, Spring 2007
Dronzek, Anna
Dronzek, Anna
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History, Department of, Syllabus, Text, Curriculum, 2007 Spring
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Abstract
There is a common assumption that all women prior to the modern era lived under
conditions of crushing oppression. In fact, while women in early modern Europe (ca. 1350‐
175) faced many restrictions on their behavior and encountered negative attitudes that
women would find intolerable today, they were nonetheless far from passive victims. They
found many opportunities to express their opinions, to act in their own and others’
interests, and to improve their lives. This semester we will examine both ideas about
women and women’s lived experiences in early modern Europe. We will explore how
precisely these women negotiated the patriarchal society in which they lived, what they
could and could not do, and how they felt about it. At the same time, we will examine the
legacy of early modern women’s experiences on our own modern culture. Finally, we will
consider how to study early modern women – what sources remain, what methods are
most fruitful, and what questions historians have spent the most time addressing. I hope
that you come away from this course not only with a greater understanding of women in
medieval Europe, but with tools for thinking about women’s experiences in a range of
settings and contexts. No previous knowledge of European or women’s history is expected
for this course.Because it is much easier to get something out of an activity if you think concretely about
what you’d like to achieve, I have identified a number of goals I would like us to work
towards this semester:
• That you develop a better understanding of the factors that shaped women’s
experiences and how those experiences differed from men’s from roughly 1350‐
1750.
• That you become familiar with the questions and approaches that distinguish
women’s history as a historical field.
• That you learn to analyze and evaluate critically a variety of ideas, arguments, and
points of view.
• That you improve your ability to express yourself orally and in writing.
Description
This syllabus was submitted to the Office of Academic Affairs by the course instructor