HIS 100-02 - Introduction to Historical Inquiry

4 credits (Fall)

Feminist Killjoys of American History surveys this nation’s past through the archetype of the Feminist Killjoy, as described by theorist Sara Ahmed: “Killjoys, misfits, trouble-makers; willful wanderers and woeful warriors: we fight for room to be as we wish; we wish for room in which we did not have to fight to be.” By centering the experiences of real and imaginal women who fought for the space to be and live as they wished, this course introduces students to the long history of women’s activism, dissent, and rebellion in the United States. As an introduction to historical inquiry, this course prioritizes the methods, theories, and scholarship of the discipline of history. Even so, by looking at the lives of individual women, representations of fictional women, and the gendered constructs that shaped the past, this course also encourages students to see the links between history, the humanities, and their own lived experiences.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Lewis