This seminar will explore the progressive politics of some notable late nineteenth and early twentieth century American women. We will consider the distinct perspective that these women brought to the problems wrought by the nation’s rapid industrialization and urban expansion. Readings and discussion will focus on:

• women’s growing quest for higher education and careers to put their education to work; 
• the work of female journalists and sociologists in documenting, clarifying, and publicizing the problems growing out of industrialization; 
• the reforms that grew out of such “settlement house” experiments as Hull House in Chicago; 
• the arguments made by women who fought for voting rights; and
• the challenges some women posed to America’s imperial ambitions and assertions of military power. 

We’ll ask how and to what extent these women shifted the direction of America’s evolving civic life. The seminar, which will take place on the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California, will include a historical tour of the conference center, which was built in response to concerns about the hazards of urban life for young working women. A project of the YWCA, it was originally intended as a seaside retreat for single women working in San Francisco. Pioneering female architect Julia Morgan, working collaboratively with Phoebe Hearst and other women philanthropists, designed and constructed the core of the facility.

• Historic Site: Asilomar Origins Tour
• Hotel: Asilomar Hotel and Conference Grounds
• This seminar is part of our CA Initiative!

Gather with a small group of teachers from around the country for three days immersed in discussion and exploration of a single topic in American history. Weekend Seminars are a free opportunity for teachers hosted near an important historical site. Teachers will prepare ahead of time for seminars by reading selected historical documents in the provided course packet. Once the seminar begins, the discussion leader guides a peer-to-peer, text-based conversation among all participants. Meals, materials, single-occupancy rooms, and historical site visits are 100% covered by Teaching American History. At the end of each course, every teacher receives a letter of participation for fifteen contact hours of continuing education and a stipend of $600 to help defray travel costs.