Although marriage is often assumed to be a universal and more or less stable institution, what we call marriage is a variable and changing bundle of arrangements, relationships, and expectations. These can include residence, rights, obligations, property, sex, and heirs. Moreover, the establishment of marriage varies widely in different social and historical contexts. This class will explore some of the range of institutional forms that have been called marriage, as well as the specific histories of marriage in the Christian West which have shaped so much of the way marriages are made, unmade, and understood in the contemporary United States. It will also include case studies of marital institutions from other societies and cultures, and will touch on issues of divorce, illegitimacy, interracial marriage, and same sex marriage. The class will be a group exploration: a seminar in which we read and discuss literatures together.

Course Requirements:

Students will be expected to participate actively in class discussions, submit brief weekly comments about the readings, and write a final research paper.

Class Format:

This course will be taught synchronously and online. There will be no exams.