32413

SoSe 22: Gender and Empire in 18th + 19th C.

Maximilian Klose

Information for students

Please note: this course will start in May (first lesson: Tuesday, May 3rd). Two additional lessons are added in May and July to make up for the missing ones in April

Comments

Gender and Empire in the 18th and 19th Centuries: The US in Copmparative Perspective. In the 18th and 19th centuries, actors in empires across the globe have used notions of sexual difference to justify their expansion and colonial appropriation. They established power relations by legitimizing their rule through notions of masculine dominance or by subordinating colonial subjects through feminizing rhetoric. These dynamics shaped the conduct between imperial centers and peripheries, as well as in the diplomatic and military relations between different empires. While never officially an empire with colonial possessions, the United States emerged after the American Revolution as a country that expanded rapidly across the continent and beyond to spread its “Manifest Destiny”. But how did the U.S. case feature into the overall power constellations and gendered perceptions in this “Age of Imperialism”? This seminar investigates the nexus of gender and imperialism by comparing the United States to other empires of its time. These include declining imperial powers such as Spain or China, enduring global players like Great Britain, but also imperial “newcomers” such as Germany and Japan. Throughout the course, students will develop an understanding of what makes an empire and how to investigate its power relations through the lens of gender in conjunction with factors of race, religion, or region. It is not mandatory but recommended to take this class in conjunction with the seminar “U.S. Foreign Relations in the 19th Century”. close