This course examines representations of women in popular culture in the United States. We will focus on the dramatic changes in the characteristics attributed to women over time; the multiple, often conflicting ideas about women that circulated at particular moments; and the influence of race, class, and sexuality in shaping popular conceptions about women. We will then consider what popular culture reveals about women’s lives: how it reflected and obscured the actual conditions of women’s lives; how it constrained women; and how women also used popular conceptions for their own ends. The course uses a variety of materials, including plays, novels, movies, images, and music. Instructor: Edwards
History