[UPDATE]Performing Gender: cultural ideals, expectations, and representations of gender in American

full name / name of organization: 
Colleen Thorndike
contact email: 

During the rise of the middle-class in the 19th century, American writers produced a variety of conduct and advice books to help those moving from the working-class into the middle-class "act properly" in society. These conduct books set up American ideals in regard to gender roles and housekeeping; their influence can be seen in the consumer culture and even in the design of houses in the 19th century. The conduct and advice book genre is alive and well today, and in many respects so are the same ideals from their 19th century counterparts.
This panel will explore these ideals and gendered expectations over time and explore how insidious these ideals and expectations of gender can be in American culture. Papers can draw from a variety of texts, including traditional conduct books spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, short stories, plays, movies, and TV shows. Papers discussing how some gender expectations have changed while others have stayed the same over time would be of particular interest, as well as papers detailing the impact these societal ideals have on our cultural conscious. How do cultural images and texts make meaning in regards to gendered expectations?

Information about SAMLA membership and conference details can be found at http://samla.memberclicks.net/conference

Please send abstracts (up to 300 words) and AV requests to Colleen Thorndike at cthorndi@kent.edu by June 7, 2013.

Popular culture
American culture