This seminar is an introduction to some dimension of the history of a nation, region, people, culture, institution, or historical phenomenon selected by the respective instructor. Students will come to understand, and develop an appreciation for: the origins and evolution of the people, cultures, and/or political, economic, and/or social institutions of a particular region(s) of the world. They may explore how human encounters shaped individual and collective identities and the political, economic, and social orders of the region/nation/communities under study. Instructors prioritize critical reading, engaged participation, and focused writing assignments.

Is there a soundtrack to women’s history? How have historic efforts to suppress women’s voices (or disbelieve them) resulted in alternative means of sharing information and stories? This course introduces students to the women’s music movement in the United States, starting with a history of women’s social movements, sex roles and cultural production with a focus on the oral archives of speech, song, and broadcast propaganda. We’ll examine advocacy for the education and political inclusion of women, as well as differences among women—ethnicity, race, class, sexuality, religion, gender expression—which prevented broader unity at critical turning points. The main approach will be studying the arc of recorded music bearing witness to resistance, from Harlem Renaissance blueswomen to coal mining women and, eventually, the women’s music and production of the late 1960s through the 1990s and well into the 21st century. The readings also draw attention to the backlash against feminism and the social conditions which still define and divide women today. Films, recordings and guest artists will enhance thoughtful written work on issues of gender in the arts and oral traditions, preparing students for critical engagement with social and policy issues of gender, sex roles and the body, through the historical framework of sound legacies. Some course readings will be available online and through bCourses, others provided by the instructor. These include Jamie Anderson, An Army of Lovers, Ginny Berson, Olivia on the Record, Candie Carawan, Sing For Freedom, Angela Davis, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, Caroline Mitchell, Women and Radio: Airing Differences, Lucy O’Brien, She-Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music, Linda Ronstadt, Simple Dreams, and Jennifer Lynn Stoever, The Sonic Color Line. The class will be conducted weekly, in-person, and includes one off-campus field trip into San Francisco and one performance event (TBA). Instructor bio: Bonnie J. Morris is the author of 19 books and has taught women's history for twenty-five years, first at George Washington University and Georgetown, and recently on Semester at Sea, as well as at Cal. She is also a women's history consultant to Disney Animation, the Smithsonian and the State Department.

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Requirements class fulfills