HUMA 429 - Respectable Citizens and Radical Subcultures: Conformity and Dissent in 19th Century America

This senior seminar explores the logic of 19th century ''moral values'' and considers its effects in American culture. As a values matrix of crucial importance for the era, “respectability” was a fusion of economic, political, and religious priorities that developed out of several social changes. It was informed by the Evangelical Protestantism created in the Second Great Awakening, and mediated by an explosion in print culture that turned the United States into a “nation of readers.” In addition, it was generated by market and industrial revolutions that fostered the emergence of a new middle class - one empowered to act as a cultural force and determined to bring “order” to society. The course also addresses the counter-movements that emerged to contest Victorian social norms. The seminar will read critical scholarship on ''respectability culture'' and study its treatment in several social movements.

Prerequisites & Notes: HUMA 302 or instructor permission.
Credits: 5
Grade Mode: Letter