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For a published version of this course syllabus, see Radical History Review 64 (Winter 1996), 19-30.
HISTORY OF MANHOOD IN AMERICA, 1750-1940
History 52
Swarthmore College
Prof. Bruce Dorsey
Spring 1999
This course is designed to allow students to explore the meanings of manhood and the various constructions of masculine identity in America between the late-18th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The negative images (opposites) against which manhood has been constructed, such as womanhood, boyhood, dependency, slavery, and racial and class difference, will be examined. Topics include politics, work, family, sexuality, race, war and violence, sports, drinking, and the myth of the self-made man. It is a course on the cultural and social history of gender in America.
REQUIRED READINGS:
The following books are required readings and available at the College Bookstore:
E. Anthony Rotundo, American Manhood.
Mark C. Carnes and Clyde Griffen, eds., Meanings for Manhood.
Mark C. Carnes, Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America.
Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Honor and Violence in the Old South.
Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization.
Ava Baron, Work Engendered: Toward a New History of American Labor.
George Chauncey, Gay New York.
Elliott Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare-Knuckle Prize Fighting in America.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Reading and Class Participation: Students are expected to attend all class meetings, including films and guest lectures scheduled outside of class. The following is the History Department policy on attendance: "Students are required to attend all classes for the successful completion of the course. Unexcused absences will result in a lower grade." Students are encouraged to complete the assigned readings before every class meeting, and be prepared for discussion. Students should have all the reading completed before a discussion meeting.
Short Papers: Two short papers (6-8 pages) will be written over the course of the semester. The essays will be based primarily on the optional reading list, but should also try to integrate the class lectures, discussion, and assigned readings. The short paper will allow students to do in-depth studies of topics for which the course can only provide a rudimentary exposure. Students can decide among a choice of topics based on the optional reading list. The short papers are not designed to be research papers, but rather analytical essays integrating assigned and optional readings. (A handout will be distributed outlining the expectations and topics for the short papers.)
First Paper Due: February 22. Second Paper Due: April 19.
Document Discovery and Analysis: Each student will write a brief paper (3-4 pages) on an historical document that they discovered that was relevant and revealing for the history of masculinity in America between 1750 and 1940. A copy, or a brief synopsis, of the document must be appended to the paper. Students will then analyze the gendered meanings inherent within the document and relate it to the material covered during this course. Students will be evaluated based on the originality, creativeness, and ingenuity in finding a document, and on their historical analysis of that document. Assistance will be given in locating sources of possible documents.
Examinations: There will be an in-class midterm examination and a final examination on the date and time scheduled by the College Registrar. The exams will be based on the assigned readings, class lectures and discussions.
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Abbreviations: (O) Optional Book at Bookstore; (H) Handout; (R) Reserve; (RB) Reserve Binder; * Primary source document
(WEEK 1)
Jan. 18 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Jan. 20 MANHOOD AND THE STUDY OF GENDER
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, Introduction, Ch. 1
Mark C. Carnes and Clyde Griffen, eds., Meanings for Manhood, Introduction,
and Ch. 12 - Nancy F. Cott, "On Men's History and Women's History,"
pp. 205-211. (R)
Jan. 22 MANHOOD IN COLONIAL & REVOLUTIONARY AMERICA
Required Reading:
Anthony Wallace, Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, pp. 21-48 (R)
Cornelia Dayton, "Taking the Trade: Abortion and Gender Relations in
an 18th-Century New England Village" William and Mary Quarterly 48
(1991), 19-49 (R)
Toby Ditz, "Shipwrecked; or Masculinity Imperiled: Mercantile Representations
of Failure and the Gendered Self in Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia,"
Journal of American History 81 (June 1994), 51-80 (R)
Ruth Bloch, "The Gendered Meanings of Virtue in Revolutionary America,"
Signs 13 (1987), pp. 37-58 (R)
Optional Reading:
* Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. (O)
(WEEK 2)
Jan. 25 INDUSTRIALIZATION & CAPITALISM: MEN, WOMEN, AND WORK
Required Reading:
Steven Watts, The Republic Reborn, pp. 109-130. (R)
Paul Johnson, "The Modernization of Mayo Greenleaf Patch," New
England Quarterly (1982), 488-516. (R)
Optional Reading:
David Roediger, The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class. (O)
Jan. 27 THE DILEMMAS OF 19TH-CENTURY WHITE MANHOOD
Required Reading:
Mark C. Carnes, Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America.
John Starrett Hughes, "The Madness of Separate Spheres : Insanity and
Masculinity in Victorian Alabama," in Mark Carnes and Clyde Griffen,
eds., Meanings for Manhood, pp. 53-66. (R)
Optional Reading:
Karen Halttunen, Confidence Men and Painted Women. (R)
Jan. 29 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 3)
Feb. 1 SLAVERY AND AFRICAN AMERICAN MANHOOD
Required Reading:
James Horton, "Freedom's Yoke: Gender Conventions Among Antebellum
Free Blacks." Feminist Studies (1986), 51-76 (R)
James Cullen, "I's a Man Now: Gender and African American Men."
in Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber, eds. Divided Houses: Gender and the
Civil War, 76-91 (R)
Martha Hodes, "The Sexualization of Reconstruction Politics," Journal
of the History of Sexuality 3 (1993), 402-416 (R)
Optional Reading:
* Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, A
Slave. (O)
Bertram Wyatt-Brown, "The Mask of Obedience: Male Slave Psychology in
the Old South." American Historical Review (1988), 1228-1252.
(R)
Feb. 3 WHITE SOUTHERN MANHOOD
Required Reading:
Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Honor and Violence in the Old South.
Feb. 5 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 4)
Feb. 8 MEN AND WOMEN IN THE WEST
Required Reading:
Joan Cashin, A Family Venture: Men and Women on the Southern Frontier,
ch. 2, 5. (R)
John Mack Faragher and Christine Stansell, "Women and Their Families
on the Overland Trail," in A Heritage of Her Own, pp. 246-61.
(R)
Feb. 10 FILM: IN THE WHITE MAN'S IMAGE.
Feb. 12 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 5)
Feb. 15 URBAN MANHOOD BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
Required Reading:
Timothy Gilfoyle, City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the
Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920, pp. 76-91. (R)
Patricia Cline Cohen, "Unregulated Youths: Masculinity and Murder in
the 1830s City." Radical History Review (1992). (R)
Feb. 17 BOYHOOD, YOUTH, AND REFORM MOVEMENTS
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, Ch. 2 & 3.
William Breitenbach, "Sons of the Fathers: Temperance Reformers and the
Legacy of the American Revolution," Journal of the Early Republic
3 (Spring 1983). (R)
Carroll Smith Rosenberg, "Davy Crockett as Trickster" in Disorderly
Conduct, pp. 90-108 (R)
Optional Reading:
* T. S. Arthur, Ten Nights in a Bar-Room, And What I Saw There. (R)
Feb. 19 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 6)
Feb. 22 IMAGES OF MANHOOD IN THE AMERICAN RENAISSANCE
(FIRST SHORT PAPER DUE)
Required Reading:
Ann Douglas, The Feminization of American Culture, ch. 9. (R)
Optional Reading:
* Herman Melville, The Confidence Man. (O)
Feb. 24 WAR, VIOLENCE, AND THE AMERICAN MALE
Required Reading:
Michael P. Rogin, Fathers and Children, ch. 5. (R)
Reid Mitchell, The Vacant Chair: The Northern Soldier Leaves Home,
pp. 3-18, 55-69, 115-33. (R)
Optional Reading:
Michael C.C. Adams, The Great Adventure: Male Desire and the Coming of World War I. (R)
Feb. 26 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 7)
Mar. 1 LATE 19TH-CENTURY "CRISIS" IN MASCULINITY?
Mar. 3 MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Mar. 5 NO CLASS
Spring Break Mar. 8-12
(WEEK 8)
Mar. 15 TURN-THE-CENTURY TRANSITION IN WHITE, MIDDLE-CLASS MASCULINITY
Required Reading:
Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, ch. 1-3.
Clyde Griffen, "Reconstructing Masculinity from the Evangelical Revival
to the Waning of Progressivism: A Speculative Synthesis," in Carnes and
Griffen, Meanings for Manhood., 183- 204. (R)
Margaret Marsh, "Suburban Men and Masculine Domesticity" in Carnes
and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood, pp. 111-127. (R)
Mar. 17 STRENUOUS, PASSIONATE MANHOOD
Required Reading:
Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, ch. 4-5, Conclusion.
Rotundo, American Manhood, ch. 10 & 11.
Peter G. Filene, Him/Her/Self: Sex Roles in Modern America. Ch. 3 "Men
and Manliness." (R)
Optional Reading:
* Theodore Roosevelt, The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses. (R)
Mar. 19 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 9)
Mar. 22 LABOR AND IMMIGRANT MEN
Required Reading:
Baron, Work Engendered, pp. 1-190.
Optional Reading:
Baron, Work Engendered, ch. 10, 12-13.
Philip Foner and Ronald Lewis, eds., The Black Worker: A Documentary History,
vol. 1. (R)
Mar. 24 PROFESSIONS AND THE EXCLUSION OF WOMEN
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, Ch. 8 & 9.
Michael Grossberg, "Institutionalizing Masculinity: The Law as a Masculine
Profession." in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood, pp.
133-151. (R)
Mary Roth Walsh, "Doctors Wanted, No Women Apply": Sexual Barriers
in the Medical Profession, 1835-1875, ch. 1, 4. (R)
Mar. 26 FILM: LOS MINEROS.
(WEEK 10)
Mar. 29 NO CLASS -- (Work on Second Paper)
Mar. 31 DISCUSSION
Apr. 2 WOMEN, COURTSHIP, AND SEX: MALE-FEMALE SEXUALITY
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, ch. 5 & 6.
Ben Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A 19th Century View of Sexuality."
in Michael Gordon, ed. The American Family in Social-Historical Perspective,
374-402. (R)
Kevin J. Mumford, "'Lost Manhood' Found: Male Sexual Impotence and Victorian
Culture in the United States." Journal of the History of Sexuality
(1993). (R)
Optional Reading:
* Polly Longworth, ed., Austin & Mabel: The Amherst Affair. .
. (R)
Peter Stearns and Mark Knapp, "Men and Romantic Love: Pinpointing a 20th-Century
Change," Journal of Social History 26 (1993), 769-795. (R)
(WEEK 11)
Apr. 5 FAMILY LIFE: MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, ch. 7.
Robert Griswold, "Divorce and the Legal Redefinition of Victorian Manhood"
in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood. (R)
Herbert Gutman, The Black Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750-1925,
pp. 45-47, 50-52, 59-75. (R)
Apr. 7 FAMILY LIFE: FATHERHOOD
Required Reading:
Stephen M. Frank, "Rendering Aid and Comfort: Images of Fatherhood
in the Letters of Civil War Soldiers from Massachusetts and Michigan,"
Journal of Social History 26 (1992), 5- 31. (R)
Margaret Marsh, "Suburban Men and Masculine Domesticity" in Carnes
and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood, pp. 111-127. (Reread)
Optional Reading:
Robert Griswold, Fatherhood in America. (R)
William G. McLoughlin, "Evangelical Child-Rearing in the Age of Jackson:
Francis Wayland's View on When and How to Subdue the Willfulness of Children,"
Journal of Social History (1975), 21-43. (R)
Apr. 9 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 12)
Apr. 12 MALE-MALE INTIMACY
Required Reading:
Rotundo, American Manhood, Ch. 4 "Youth and Male Intimacy."
Donald Yacovone, "Abolitionists and the 'Language of Fraternal Love.'"
in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood, pp. 85-95. (R)
Martin Bauml Duberman, "'Writhing Bedfellows': Two Young Men from Antebellum
South Carolina's Ruling Elite Share 'Extravagant Delight'," in Duberman,
About Time: Exploring the Gay Past, pp. 5-14. (R)
Optional Reading:
Karen Hansen, "'Our Eyes Behold Each Other: Masculinity and Intimate Friendship in Antebellum New England." in Peter Nardi, ed., Men's Friendships (1992). (RB)
Apr. 14 HOMOSEXUALITY AND GAY MANHOOD
Required Reading:
George Chauncey, Gay New York, esp. Introduction, ch. 2-7, 10-12, Epilogue.
Optional Reading:
* Claude Hartland, The Story of a Life. (O)
George Chauncey, Jr., "Christian Brotherhood or Sexual Perversion? Homosexual
Identities and the Construction of Sexual Boundaries in the World War One
Era." Journal of Social History 19 (1985). (R)
Apr. 16 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 13)
Apr. 19 SPORTS AND RECREATION
(Second Short Paper Due)
Required Reading:
Elliot Gorn, The Manly Art: Bare Knuckle Prize Fighting in America, ch. 4, 6, epilogue. (R)
Optional Reading:
Ted Ownby, Subduing Satan: Religion, Recreation, and Manhood in the Rural South, 1865-1920. (O)
Apr. 21 RELIGION
Required Reading:
Susan Curtis, "The Son of Man and God the Father: The Social Gospel
and Victorian Masculinity," in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for Manhood,
pp. 67-78. (R)
William Becker, "The Black Church: Manhood and Mission." Journal
of the American Academy of Religion 3 (1972). (R)
Gail Bederman, "'The Women Have Had Charge of the Church Work Long Enough':
The Men and Religion Forward Movement of 1911-1912 and the Masculinization
of Middle-Class Protestantism," American Quarterly 41 (September
1989). (R)
Optional Reading:
* Harold Frederic, The Damnation of Theron Ware. (O)
Ted Ownby, Subduing Satan: Religion, Recreation, and Manhood in the Rural
South, 1865-1920. (O)
Apr. 23 DISCUSSION
(WEEK 14)
Apr. 26 THE MALE REVOLT AGAINST THE BREADWINNER
Apr. 28 CONCLUSIONS: MASCULINITY IN THE LATE 20TH CENTURY
Apr. 30 NO-CLASS -- FILM TO BE SCHEDULED DURING THE WEEK
© 2002 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Created November 2002.