Women at Home: Women as Producers, Consumers, Designers, and Critics of the American Domestic Interior, 1820-1920

This seminar investigates the multiple roles women played in creating the American home in the “long” nineteenth century. Women were not only key figures in reconfiguring the domestic environment in this period, but they were also active participants in many of the growing trades that produced an expanding range of consumer goods for the home, such as decorative home furnishings, clothing, and prints. After the Civil War, women also sought to gain economic autonomy in their new roles as designers, creators, and critics of specifically “artistic” goods for the home. We will work with the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where we will meet regularly, in addition to BGC), as well as with primary sources including periodical literature, fiction, and design manuals. Topics include the development of parlor culture, the rise of department stores, the role of tastemakers and household manuals, and the growing independence of women through creative work. Assignments will include wiki postings, class presentations, and a final paper with a digital option. 3 credits.