Instructor: Winston Bowman
Office Hours: TR 10:30am-12pm and by Appointment (OS 119)
Sex, Marriage and the State
in American History
Course Syllabus
Course Description:
This course examines the social, cultural, legal and political histories of sex and marriage in America from the earliest days of European colonization to the present day. We will engage in a series of complex interrogations of the relationship between the private and the public spheres of American life across a broad timeframe. The course proceeds chronologically, beginning in the early colonial era with an account of the differing sexual and marital practices of European settlers and indigenous groups. It goes on to track the history of sex, sexuality and marriage throughout the British colonies, tracing narratives of sexual conformity and deviance and illustrating the mutability of sexual mores over time. We will also discusses conventions governing inter-racial relationships and the vexed connections between sex and slavery in antebellum America. We will explore the changing shape of marriage law throughout the nineteenth century and analyze related controversies over Mormon polygamy. The twentieth century components of the course focus on the development of changing gender roles, the post-war “sexual revolution” and nascent legal recognitions of same-sex relationships.
Learning Goals:
This course uses the complex historical interactions of government power, sexual conduct and marriage practices to cultivate your knowledge of the cultural, social, political and legal histories of the United States. It will develop your ability to learn how to use a diverse set of historical methods and sources. Through a series of papers and class discussions, this course willalso enhance core skills in scholarly research, critical thinking, oral communication, and written expression.
You should gain the perspective afforded by studying events, ideas and actions in historical context andsequence. Many of the issues covered in this class continue to resonate in contemporary social and political debate. By the end of the course, my aim is that you will be equipped to deal with these debates in a more nuanced, sophisticatedmanner with the benefit of a deep understanding of the historical currents underlying these ongoing questions.
Required Readings:
Most of the readings in this class are edited cases and photocopied articles and book chapters available through the course LATTE page. In addition to those readings, there are five required texts:
David Allyn, Make Love Not War: The Sexual Revolution, an Unfettered History (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2000).
Margo Canaday, The Straight State: Sexulaity and Citizenship in Twentieth Century America (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011).
George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture and the Making of the Gay Male World (New York: Basic Books, 1995).
Nancy Cott, Public Vows: A History of Marriage and the Nation (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002).
Joshua Rothman, Notorious in the Neighborhood: Sex and Families Across the Color line in Virginia, 1787-1861 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003).
These books are on reserve at the library and are widely available for purchase. Readings from these books are referred to hereinafter by the author’s last name. You should print out all other readings and bring them to class.
1.Informed Participation: 25%.
With relatively few exceptions, class sessions will be based primarily on discussions of the reading assigned for each meeting. If you do not attend this class prepared to contribute to these discussions, your grade will suffer (along with the class).
2.Short Papers:25% total.
You will write two short (four-to-five-page) papers on assigned topics that call on you to argue an historical position based on your interpretation of the class readings. You should meet with me at least once to discuss your drafts before revising them and turning them in on the due date. Your best grade will account for 15% of your grade; your worst grade will count for 10%.
3.Research Paper:25%.
You will write one (1) long (approximately twelve-page)research paper on any major issue related to this course (I will provide you with a list of potential topics, but you may research any other topic I approve). This paper must draw on at least five approved primary sources we have not read in class. It must also incorporate insights from at least two secondary sources we have read during the semesterand two we have not discussed. You will be required to submit a brief summary of your topic and a proposed list of sources on or before the date listed below for my approval. As with the short papers, you will also need to confer with me over your initial drafts before revising them and turning them in by the final due date.
4.Final Exam:25%.
The in-class final exam will feature a combination of short answer and essay questions.
Other Policies:
1.Academic Honesty:
You are expected to be familiar with, and to follow, the University’s policies on academic integrity. Please consult Brandeis University’sRights and Responsibilities handbook for all policies and procedures. All policies related to academic integrity apply to in-class and take home projects, assignments, exams, and quizzes. Students may only collaborate on assignments with permission from the instructor. Allegations of alleged academic dishonesty will be forwarded to the Director of Academic Integrity. Sanctions for academic dishonesty can include failing grades and/or suspension from the university.
2.Accommodations:
If you have a documented learning disorder or other disability that may require special accommodations, please see me as soon as practicable to make appropriate arrangements.
3.Laptops:
You may use laptops in this class to take notes or call up LATTE documents or other class materials. In the interests of avoiding needless distractions, please refrain from using laptops for any other purpose.
- Phones:
Endeavor to turn your mobile phones and pagers off before class. Text messaging during class is very rude. Please do not do it.
5.Attendance:
As noted above, attendance will count toward your participation grade for this class. Dispensations for excused absences will be made on the basis of a medical condition or family or personal emergency only.
6.Late Papers:
Turn your papers and other assignments in on time. Any late assignments will be graded down one half-grade for each daybetween the due date and the time you hand in the paper.
- Email:
I frequently communicate with the class and individual students via email. Students should check their email regularly and respond to any queries promptly.
SCHEDULE
Week 1:
Jan. 13:Course Introduction
Jan. 15:Conceiving of the Subject
Readings:Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis.”
Weeks, “The Invention of Sexuality.”
Cott, 1-8.
Week 2:
Jan. 20:First Encounters
Readings:Sayer, “Native Sexual Practices in the Eyes of the Beholders.”
Barr, “From Captives to Slaves.”
Jan. 22:Sexual Practices and Mores in Colonial America
Readings:Godbeer, “Chambering and Wantonising.”
Dayton, “Taking the Trade.”
Week 3:
Jan. 27:Same-Sex Relations in Colonial America
Readings:Godbeer, “The Cry of Sodom.”
Reis, “Hermaphrodites and Same-Sex Sex in Early America.”
Jan. 29:Marriage in Early America
Readings:Cott, 9-55.
Week 4:
Feb. 3:Race, Slavery, and Sex
Readings:Rothman, 1-87.
Feb. 5:The Law of Marriage in the Early Republic and Antebellum America
Readings:Cott, 56-76.
Hartog, 1-39.
Week 5:
Feb 10:Sex, Work and Gender Roles
Readings:Stansell, “Women and Men.”
Rothberg, 89-163.
Feb. 12:Sex, Violence, and the Law
Readings:Rothberg 164-168.
Cohen, “Unregulated Youth.”
George v. Mississippi (1859).
DUE:Paper 1.
Week 6:
Feb. 17:NO CLASS (Midterm Break)
Feb. 19:NO CLASS (Midterm Break)
Week 7:
Feb. 24:Divorce and Gender Roles in Nineteenth-Century Marriage
Readings:Hartog, 40-314.
Rothberg, 169-199.
Feb. 26:Polygamy in the Mountain West
Readings:Gordon, “The Mormon Question.”
Week 8:
Mar. 3:The Slow Transformation of Marriage Law
Readings:Cott, 77-155.
DUE:Research Paper Proposal.
Mar. 5:Sexuality and Urban Life I
Readings:Chauncey, 1-150.
Week 9:
Mar. 10:Sexuality and Urban Life II
Readings:Chauncey, 151-354.
Mar. 12:Pathologizing Sexual Conduct
Readings:Somerville, “Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Scientific Body.”
Katz, “The Invention of Heterosexuality.”
Week 10:
Mar. 17:Redefining “Modern” Marriage
Readings:Cott, 156-199.
Mar. 19:Contraception (and Liberation?)
Readings:Briggs, “Demon Mothers in the Social Laboratory”
Griswold v. Connecticut (1965).
Week 11:
Mar. 24:The “Lavender Scare”
Readings:Johnson, “The Lavender Scare” (excerpts).
Mar. 26:Miscegenation Revisited
Readings:Loving v. Virginia (1967).
Villiager, “Loving in Post-Racial World” (excerpts)
DUE:Paper 2.
Week 12:
Mar. 31:A Revolution(?) I
Readings:Allyn, 41-118 (skip 85-93).
Apr. 2:A Revolution(?) II
Readings:Allyn, 119-183
Week 13:
Apr. 7:NO CLASS (Spring Break)
Apr. 9:NO CLASS (Spring Break)
Week 14:
Apr. 14:A Revolution(?) III
Readings:Allyn, 206-294.
Apr. 16:Strange Bedfellows: Pornography, Hate Speech and Harassment
Readings:MacKinnon, “Only Words.”
American Booksellers v. Hudnut (1985).
Rosen, “In Defense of Gender-Blindness.”
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992).
Week 15:
Apr. 21:“What are you doing in My Bedroom?”
Readings:Irons, “The Courage of their Convictions.”
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986).
Romer v. Evans (1996).
Apr. 23:Same-Sex Relationships and the Modern American State
Readings:Ettlebrick, “Lesbian and Gay Rights in Historical Perspective.”
Goodrich v. Dept. Public Health (2003).
Lawrence v. Texas (2003).
Week 16:
Apr. 28:NO CLASS (Brandeis Friday)
DUE:Research Papers to Olin Sang 119 by 5pm.
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