American Families

American Studies 480-200


Professor Tracy McCabe
mccabe@lfc.edu
Professor Siobhan Moroney
moroney@lfc.edu

 

In the history of the pre- and post-settlements of the United States, there has always existed a range of family constellations. That families are constructed differently is influenced by gender, religion, economics, war, immigration, race/ethnicity and sexuality. The phrase “The American Family” is by definition a false one; there has always been a diversity of American families. This course begins with this premise and will explore the history and culture of the family in America.

Course readings include:
Mintz and Kellogg, Domestic Revolutions
Stacey, Brave New Families
Silverman, "The Impact of Indentured Servitude on the Society and Culture of Southern New England Indians, 1680-1810, The New England Quarterly, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), 622-666; available through JSTOR.
Moynihan, The Negro Family: A Case for National Action
Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Morrison, Sula
Cunningham, Flesh and Blood
Beecher, A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Tocqueville, Democracy in America Volume II, section 3, chapters titled Influence of Democracy
on the Family, Education of Young Women in the United States, The Young Woman in the Character
of the Wife, and How Americans Understand Equality of the Sexes.

Visit the course research guide provided by LFC library at this link http://library.lakeforest.edu/resource/amer480200.html