This one-day seminar explores how 19th-century women utilized wit and satire to navigate three pivotal eras of American history: the challenges of frontier life and Western settlement, the political upheavals of the Civil War, and the social reforms of the Progressive Era.Participants will analyze how humorists like Marietta Holley and Mary Abigail Dodge used “sprightly” prose and rural dialects to challenge gender norms and comment on national crises. Through a survey of these three distinct periods, the seminar examines how women transformed satire into a powerful tool for political expression and social change.

This program will be conducted as a discussion, utilizing primary source documents as the only readings, and with the Discussion Leader facilitating the conversation, instead of lecturing or presenting. Registrants, therefore, are highly encouraged to read all the documents in advance and come ready with questions. Teachers will receive a Letter of Attendance at the conclusion of the seminar.