2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

This session will enable discussion of strategies and philosophies for incorporating histories of women, gender, and sexuality into general education and survey courses for undergraduates. In introductory-level U.S. History and World History overviews, how do we apply the content, theories, and methodologies of our scholarship? This will be an opportunity to discuss experiences teaching about women, genders, and sexualities when covering long chronologies, teaching large classes, and working with students who may not have previous experience with the subject matter. Approaches for teaching about intersectionality and for incorporating diverse perspectives will be considered.

Simultaneously, we will assess ways the evolution of research on women, gender, and sexuality—and this scholarship’s influence on the larger academy—have affected our pedagogy. When women’s studies emerged as a field, academics strove to increase awareness of topics and that had been ignored. Today, even teachers who do not specialize in women’s and gender history often incorporate the subject into their instruction. Simultaneously, feminism, gender, and sexuality feature prominently in contemporary political discourse and popular culture. In this context, what opportunities and challenges emerge for educators? What aspects of women’s and gender history have students already encountered—either inside or outside the academy—before entering our classrooms? What should we strive to include in our introductory history courses to broaden and deepen their knowledge and to reflect new innovations in our field?

The audience for this session includes instructors of historical survey courses and conference participants interested in the application of scholarship to undergraduate curricula.