Women of the Americas: Early Encounters and Entangled Histories

Course Summary

The history of European discovery, contact, and early settlement in the Americas is traditionally represented as a chain of great men. Students and the wider public are often familiar with the lives of few women beyond Martha Washington, Betsy Ross, and now the Schuyler sisters. This course disrupts narratives that focus exclusively on the history of men by exploring the lives of European, Indigenous, and African-descended women during the sixteenth through early eighteenth centuries. Women from a variety of backgrounds were integral to the development of Spanish, Dutch, English, and French colonial societies in North America. This course traces the lives of Indigenous interpreters, enslaved laborers, and women who traversed the Atlantic and carved a place for themselves in colonial legal, social, and economic systems. The history of the Americas cannot be understood without examining the experiences of these women.

This course has been designed with the generous support of the New York Historical Society.

Course Dates: July 25 - July 29, 2022

Professional Development Hours: 25

Course Registration Fee: $125

Humanities In Class Online Course Refund,  Transfer & Cancellation Policy

• Refund Policy: Humanities In Class Online Course registrants occasionally are presented with circumstances that prevent them from participating in registered courses. In order to qualify for a refund of fees, registrants must submit their written request according to the following guidelines:

  • If the cancellation request is received more than fourteen (14) days before the course start date, the registrar will refund the course registration, less a $25 cancellation fee.

  • If the cancellation request is received between seven (7) and fourteen (14) days of the course start date, the registrar will refund fifty percent (50%) of course registration, less a $25 cancellation fee.

  • If the cancellation request is received less than seven (7) days before the course start date, no refund will be given.

• Transfer Policy: Humanities In Class Online Courses are offered during Spring, Summer and Fall sessions. In the event that unforeseen circumstances prevent a registrant from enrolling in a current course offering, they will have the option of transferring the amounts paid to a future, calendared course. 

• Cancellation Policy: In the event that an online course is canceled by the National Humanities Center, registrants will be given the option of transferring their registration to another course or receiving a full refund of their registration fee.