This course considers the social and physical construct of the American single-family home as a symbol for examining historical and contemporary issues and provides perspectives for university students as they face the transition from one home experience to another as independent adults.

We’ll investigate myriad aspects of domestic culture in the US from colonial times to the present. We’ll conceive, refine, and present arguments regarding the impact of home, hearth, and housing on the American character. Through assessment of this complicated and often enigmatic subject we’ll gain a richer understanding of ourselves as reflected through the choices we make about our domestic places and spaces.

Topics include domestic culture and national reform, domestic life in art,  literature and music, technology and modernization in the home, aesthetic choices and domestic space, and home-based political and economic expression. Additional themes include domestic lifestyles, manners, social conventions and activities, entertainment, children’s roles, changing views of family and home, and pets. Connections to community forms, whether urban, suburban, or exurban, will provide important frameworks of analysis as well.

Let’s go inside...