Review Chapter 2. "I Never Forget What I Remember" pp. 29 - 51
Chapter 3, “Unbosom your Heart: Friendship and the Construction of Gender” pp. 52 - 78
Chapter 4, “Social Work: Visiting and the Creation of Community” pp. 79 - 113
Hansen’s observations in Chapter 3 explores a concept we neglect too often, in my humble opinion: Friendship. The idea of gender construction is interesting. More typically we think of gender as something we’re born with. You’ll notice, however, that what Hansen is interested in primarily is the way gender behavior is constructed. What kinds of expression of friendship and affection were tolerated and indeed encouraged in New England communities, and how were these expressions different depending on the gender involved.
Note that there are at least three different types of friendships to consider: friendships between women, friendships between men, and friendships between men and women.
Note, too, that there seem to be some class and race differences in the ways friendship was expressed.
Finally, think about what friendships mean to us today? Have our concepts of friendship and the value of friendship changed in any ways? How about the ways we express friendship?
The course of true love or true friendship didn't always run true as this tale amply testifies. Clickl on the image to read the whole thing (have a hanky ready).
For Monday, April 19
By rhe revised schedule, your town assignments are due this day. As I remarked on Monday, one of the great privileges I have which you normally don't have is to view your all your work. I'm going to try to remedy that today, by having a kind of "show and tell" session. How exactly that's going to work from a logistical point of view I haven't quite figured out. I should turn that over to one of the great managers in this class. Any volunteers? I expect you'll be spending most of your alotted time to working on this project. If you have any left, either catch up on parts of Hansen you might have missed, or look ahead to the readings for Thursday. They aren't difficult but they will take some time.
For Thursday, April 22
Regarding Chapter 4, one of the things we observe is that friendships were formed and sustained through working together. Amongst the elite and members of the upper middle class these projects took place within the confines of the houses of neighbors. Hansen will look at the situation amongst men and women (though women, primarily) of the working classes. Do these patterns change significantly? What should we understand about the idea of “visiting”?. How does the transient labor of domestic workers and the intrusion of the factory system as it develops in larger communities affect the ability to make and hold friends?
The photograph at the left is of two women spinners working in the Lowell Mills in 1860. Some of the detail is lost in shrinking the size of the picture. Click on it to see it in its original size.