Hauptseminar Neuere Geschichte: Mr & Mrs President - US-American Presidential Couples Through the Centuries

Instructors: PD Dr. Josef Johannes Schmid
Shortname: 07.068.20_430
Course No.: 07.068.20_430
Course Type: Hauptseminar

Anwesenheitspflicht

Attendance is mandatory for the entire duration of the event, including the preliminary meeting.

Recommended reading list

Carl S. Anthony, First Ladies: The Saga of the Presidents Wives and Their Power 1789–1961, New York 1992.
Jeanne E. Abrams, First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and the Creation of an Iconic American Role, New York 2018.
John B. Roberts, Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency, ²New York 2004.
Pierre-Marie Loizeau, “First Lady But Second Fiddle” or: the Rise and Rejection of the Political Couple in the White House, 1933-today, in: European Journal of American Studies 10.10/1 (2015), online: https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/pdf/10525.
Veronica De Sanctis, From the Kennedys to the Obamas: Style and Politics of American Presidential Couples, in: Giovanna Motta/Antonello Biagini (Hgg.), Fashion through History: Costumes, Symbols, Communication, vol. 2, Cambridge/Newcastle 2018, 318-326.
Robert P. Watson, Toward the Study of the First Lady – the State of Scholarship, in: Presidential Studies Quarterly 33/2 (2003), 423–441.

Contents

In history, women don’t matter. That silly phrase has, unfortunately, not only found its way into popular or journalistic overviews, but also, alas, into various contributions to “scholarly historiography”. Often enough, one of the examples cited happens to be the past of the US, where, so we are told, the alleged “weaker vessel” left only small imprints of importance.
Leaving aside the example of the Indian and old colonial women, of females on the trails and out on the western frontier, this class is going to direct its attention to the very top of American government, society and decision making – the the presidential couple itself.
Starting with the iconic duo of Martha and George Washington and the probable first heyday of female influence in the person of Abigail Adams, we will continue our research along the path of history, passing Elizabeth and James Monroe, Louisa and John Quincy Adams, Mary and Abe Lincoln as well as Varina and Jefferson Davis, all the way up (or down) to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marie “Mamie” and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jackie and John Kennedy right to the incumbent couple.
On that long journey some guiding questions will accompany the wayfarer: in how far did the female part of the presidential household take part in political, social and cultural questions and decisions of their time? How was the couple seen and perceived during their term(s) in office? Were there any recurring elements of presidential tradition and representation requiring both sexes to be present? How had these couples met – not only romantically, but are there any patterns of partner choosing/selecting evident? Do certain social, local, regional, confessional backgrounds or indeed even singular names and families appear more often than once on our list? Are actual “dynasties” discernible, and if so how, and where?

As this short list already indicates, a more thorough look upon the inhabitants of the White House may reveal a lot more than only an accumulation of love stories and/or scandal columns.

Additional information

Students are expected to have a solid understanding of the historical periods covered.

The seminar will be held as a block session on February 19–20, 2027, and will be preceded by a mandatory preparatory meeting.

The seminar is intended to be a real multilingual course; thus any contribution can be made in English or German. Therefore, an at least good passive command of these languages is inevitably required.
Please consider your personal qualifications before applying.

Dates

Date (Day of the week) Time Location
02/19/2027 (Friday) 09:15 - 19:00 00 441 P10
1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude
02/20/2027 (Saturday) 09:15 - 19:00 00 441 P10
1141 - Philosophisches Seminargebäude