Syllabus

Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe: 1500-1750

Hist 102TH

Dr. Tryntje Helfferich

Email: thelff@gmail.com Phone: 893-2565 Office Hours: Tues 1:45-3:45

Class Time: M-TH 12:30-1:35 pm, HSSB 4020

Course Description:

This course will investigate the lives and experiences of women in early modern Europe (1500-1750), including discussions both of "great women" such as Queen Elisabeth I of England, and of more ordinary women and groups of women. Although the women of the 16th through 18th centuries played a huge role in everyday life, religion, and government, they are often marginalized in textbooks and standard history courses. This course will address that gap by looking closely at the experiences of women not just in such dramatic events as the great witchcraft trials, but also in their families and communities, in work and commerce, in education, in religious life, and in politics and positions of power. In order to get a better idea of contemporary ideas about women and the roles and experiences of women, the course reader will include actual letters, essays, sermons, and poetry by and about the women of the time.

Required Texts:

This course stresses the study and analysis of primary historical documents in order to explore the experiences of early modern European women. All readings for the course can be found within the course reader, which is available for sale at Grafikart in IV (6550 Pardall Road).

Course Calendar:

We will be holding weekly discussions of the course readings. Please be ready to discuss the readings in class on the date they are due.

Ø Week 1: Intro to Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe

Readings: St. Augustine, “On Marriage and Concupiscence;” St. Thomas Aquinas, “On the Truth of the Catholic Faith;” Christine de Pizan, The City of Ladies

Ø Week 2: Sex and Family

Readings: William Sermon, “The Ladies Companion;” William Gouge, “Domesticall Duties;” “The Husband

Who Does Not Rule;” Erasmus, “A Counselling Session,” “The New Mother;” Grimmelshausen, Simplicius

Simplicissimus

Ø Week 3: Money and Work

Readings: Glückel of Hameln, Memoirs

Ø Week 4: Literacy and Learning

Paper due Monday

Readings: Daniel Defoe, “On the Education of Women;” Lucrezia Marinella, The Nobility and Excellence of

Women; Erasmus, “The Abbot and the Learned Lady”

Ø Week 5: Religion and Spirituality

Readings: Martin Luther, “On Women and Marriage;” Margaret Fell Fox, “Women's Speaking Justified;” St.

Theresa of Avilla, “The Way of Perfection;” Witchcraft Documents

Ø Week 6: Power and Privilege

Final Exam Thursday

Readings: John Knox: “The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women;” Elizabeth

I, “Selected Writings;” Saint-Simon, Memoirs; Women’s Petition

Grading:

· Paper: 35%

· Discussion: 25%

· Final Exam: 40%

Papers:

Here's a brief guide to the paper, but I'll also be providing a more detailed handout. The paper should...

· Be handed in at the beginning of class on Monday of Week 4

· Be typed, be double-spaced, use 12-point font, and be between 1600-1800 words.

· Fully answer the question asked.

· Involve NO extra research other than your reading of the assigned texts. I want YOUR ideas, not those of some 19th century German academic!

Final Word on Academic Dishonesty:

The point of a college education is to learn. All forms of academic dishonesty, such as cheating and plagiarism, do a disservice to you and to your fellow classmates. Any forms of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic fail for the course. Egregious cases will be reported to the dean and can lead to expulsion. If you have any question of what constitutes academic dishonesty or plagiarism, please see me.