"Knights and their Ladies Fair": Comparing Courtship from the Seventeenth Century to Today

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Amanda Swinton (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library
Advisor
Rosemarie Stremlau

Abstract: This research will show the transformation of courtship and marriage from early seventeenth century America to the present through books, journal articles, film, letters, and interviews. By studying the transformation of courtship I intend to discuss the socialization before and after marriage and the changing roles in marriage. The first half of the information will be comprised of research taken from books, journal articles, letters, and magazines from the time period. The incorporation of interviews of women from the present will offer many insights into the changes that have taken place, especially from the 1940s into the twenty-first century. These interviews will serve as supplemental information, along with film, and will add a more personal touch to the research. Women’s history is an especially interesting topic because of the many different facets that it can be viewed from. For the most part women are excluded from history and cast to the side in supporting roles with much information concerning them and their contributions being lost or ignored. History has been written by men and about men for too long. While it is true that the victors write history, the victors often forget who helped them attain their goal and kept watch on the home front. Including women in history adds to historical study because we are able to broaden the perspective and engage in theory and dialogues that have a contemporary relevance to today’s society. Women’s changing social status can be seen through changing political, cultural, physical, and class power. For this reason I want to incorporate what I have learned in previous courses to see how courtship has evolved in response to economic, political, and social change. Including interviews from family and friends will make the project more personal and diverse because of the various backgrounds.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Language: English
Date: 2009
Keywords
Courtship, Courting, Social Implications, Economic Implications, Birth Control, Automobiles, Disney Films, Grimm Brothers

Email this document to