HIST 1270 - Women in European History, 1450-1848

Credit Hours: 3.00

Objectives:

1. Identify the different standards under which men and women operated in the Renaissance Era.
2. Identify examples of how the Renaissance woman remained resilient in a male dominated world.
3. Identify examples of the restrictiveness of Renaissance society.

Outcome 2: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify the three distinct stages in the overall struggle of Early Modern European women to achieve equality.

Objectives:

1. Describe the impact of the Protestant Reformation, the Counter Reformation and the Wars of Religion on the lives of women.
2. Describe the impact of emerging industrialization within Europe on the lives of women.
3. Describe the impact of societal revolution within Europe on the lives of women.

Outcome 3: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to describe the birth of the modern feminist movement as a natural climax of historical processes within Early Modern European history.

Objectives:

1. Assess both the reality of women’s lives as well as the success of historical women’s activism by the start of the 19th century, giving particular emphasis to a comparison between the following two revolutionary movements and the respective roles of women:
   1. American Revolution.
   2. French Revolution.
2. Identify the historical events surrounding the birth of the modern feminist movement.
3. Identify responses, victories and struggles within the early years of the feminist movement.

1. Understanding the Reality of Women’s Lives in Early Modern Europe - The World of the Renaissance Woman
   1. The Renaissance Man v. The Renaissance Woman
   2. The Resiliency of Women
      1. Renaissance Female Ruler - The Quandary of Women in a Powerful Societal Position
      2. Education of the Renaissance Woman
   3. The End Result? Few Changes in the Lives of Women
2. Three Distinct Stages in the Overall Struggle to Achieve Equality (1500-1815)
   1. The Protestant Reformation, the Counter Reformation and the Wars of Religion - The Awakening of European Women (1519-1648)
   2. Emerging Industrialization - Rising Frustration and Activism (1648-1750)
   3. The Revolutionary Era - Ingredients of Feminist Thought Emerge (1750-1815)
      1. The Enlightenment - Intellectualism, liberty and equality
      2. Romanticism - Sexual Politics and Women’s Activism
      3. Industrial Revolution - Abandonment of the Family Economy and Shifting Societal Roles
3. The Birth of the Feminist Movement (1815-1848)
   1. The Reality of Women’s Lives by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century
      1. American Revolution
      2. French Revolution
   2. The First Wave of Feminism
      1. Seneca Falls Convention
      2. Responses, victories and struggles