HIS 127: History That Inspires
“It’s all American history, but told through the eyes of women,” said Associate Professor of History Dr. Jennifer Tomás when describing HIS 127: Women in American History. As the sole professor for HIS 127, Tomás is dedicated to teaching history from a perspective that has long been underrepresented in academia.
Despite women being essential to many of the most important political and social movements, it took decades for women’s studies to be recognized and widely taught. This is why Tomás, an expert in the field, pushed for HIS 127 to be offered at PVCC. While it was originally an elective, HIS 127 became a Civic Engagement course as part of PVCC’s Quality Engagement Plan in 2019.
The 16-week course focuses on the civic activism of women from the colonial era to the late 20th century. Through the selected readings and in-depth lectures, students can learn about key historical events and the generations of female figures who continuously fought for change. “I think it can be inspiring for people just to see that in times where women had far fewer rights and more limited access to things like equal pay, education, or political and legal rights, that they found a way to actively work for change,” Tómas said.
Now, more than ever, this course has become especially applicable to the country’s current political climate. However, through her teachings, Tomás hopes to motivate students to become civically active in their communities in any way they can.
“I think that the erosion of reproductive health rights, voting rights, and a whole host of rights and the progress that was made by women and other social justice activists over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries makes this course really relevant. I think it provides students with not just a timeline of how Americans in the past had made political and social changes, but it gives us lots of role models and examples,” Tomás said.
Aspen Eichelberger, a current HIS 127 student, had this to say about the course: “It has been an incredibly eye-opening class. There are so many monumental women throughout American history that most of us in the class had never even heard of. I have a better understanding of American history as a whole now. Dr. Tomas also gives great feedback on projects and I feel better prepared going forward in my academic career because of this class.”
HIS 127: Women in American History is available for the 2024 spring semester. The course number is 54490. Classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2 to 3:15 p.m.
