GWS 395-02 - Advanced Special Topic: American Women From Suffrage to the White House

4 credits (Fall)

Cross-listed as: HIS 395-01. In 1920, the US Constitution extended the right to vote to American women. By this time, women already were active political actors, including several who had made a run for the presidency. Although women would continue to be significant players in formal and informal political spaces, it would be another century before a woman would be successfully elected to the office of Vice President. The presidency itself has remained elusive. This course considers women’s political presence, activism, achievements, exclusions, and expectations from suffrage to the present day. At the heart of our conversations will be a careful questioning of what it might mean and what it might take to have a woman president.

Prerequisite: GWS 111 or HIS 100 and one 200-level GWS or one 200-level HIS course; with grades S, C, or better.
Note: Plus-2 option available
Instructor: Herbst