HIST 316
The Social History of Sexuality
Analytical Paper Instructions (as pdf)
The essay for this term will help you engage with a key problem facing historians: how to evaluate primary source evidence. You will be asked to evaluate the Herculine Barbin memoir in order to come to some judgement as to what one might conclude from it about 19th century notions of sexual normalcy, identity, and the body.
The assignment asks you to develop an historically informed interpretation of the memoir. No outside sources (ie. library/web materials) should be consulted in writing this paper. However, you may use relevant articles from Nye and the Course Pack if you feel they enhance your argument.
The 10-12 page paper should be typed, double-spaced, with 12 pt font and 1 inch margins. It will be judged according to the key elements of formal writing. Papers should possess a clearly defined title (of your own choosing), include a well-developed thesis statement, as well as possess a logical development and a brief conclusion. Proper style and grammar are essential elements of persuasive writing. Papers with spelling, logic, stylistic, and grammar mistakes will receive a lower grade. If you have any questions concerning footnoting or any other aspect of writing history papers, consult the History Department Style guide (available in the Department of History office as a purple pamphlet or as a link from the departmental webpage (http://www.carleton.ca/history), or Kate Turabian's Students Guide to Writing College Papers available at any bookstore. MLA style is not acceptable for this exercise.
What is an Analytical Paper?
Barbin's memoir is a piece of writing produced in the context of mid 19th century Europe, when medical knowledge began to assume greater importance over sexual morality and social and sexual definitions of deviance. Unlike secondary sources, like a textbook, monograph (books written by professional historians), or journal article, this memoir provides a unique window into the historical past through the eyes of a contemporary witness together with the interpretations of doctors charged with evaluating her condition.
The analytical paper is designed to encourage an in-depth historical analysis of a specific time period through the close reading and contextualization of an eyewitness account. In many ways, it functions in much the same way as a traditional research paper, in that you should read the material carefully, noting important passages you might refer to in your essay. It should answer the question posed, highlighting specific themes and examples from the text to support the thesis advanced. Most importantly, it should demonstrate a close reading of the materials in light of the issues raised in the course thus far. In other words, your paper shouldn't simply re-state the content of the memoir, but it should ANALYZE it in a kind of critical reflection mindful of its role as an historical source. In crafting and advancing your argument, you paper should involve direct quotations from the memoir, in addition to drawing from lecture notes and relevant Nye readings, which must be cited according to accepted History Department style (not MLA style -- again, be sure to consult the departmental style guide).
Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when reading the text. Some of these questions may require additional investigation in the library. They are designed to serve as a guide to help you approach the source as an historical document and not just a literary product.
1) How would you describe the author's place within French society at this time? What motivated her to write the work? This question requires you to think about the readings assigned so far this term. What are the issues at stake in the emergence of sexual identity in 19th century Europe? What role did middle class values and medical knowledge play in shaping popular and professional notions of sexual outsiders, transgressors, and "deviants"?
2) In what ways does this source address the themes covered in the course? Where does this source fit in to the discussion of the shift from the one-sex to the two-sex model? What are typical female traits at this time?
3) What is the significance of the source to our understanding of the historical context? What is specifically 19th century about Barbin's upbringing, her knowledge of herself, and the attitudes of those who interact with her? This kind of question forces you to identify the ways in which the material is representative of the time in which it was produced.
4) On a related note, what is the social, cultural, and political backdrop at the time the author penned the work? How does this background help shape the ideas expressed? This line of questioning forces you to *contextualize* the author's argument by approaching it from the perspective of someone writing in the late mid 19th century.
Questions to Discuss in the Analytical Paper:
In evaluating the memoir and the doctors' analyses, assess what was at stake in correcting the original sex assignment. In drawing examples from the text, you will need to analyze the differences between Barbin's self-perception and how medical science accounted for her "true and definitive identity" as described by Michel Foucault in the text's introduction. You may draw from any of the sources discussed in Nye, the lectures, and course pack if you find they enhance your argument. This is not a requirement; rather it is an option should you wish to employ additional texts in your essay answer.
You
should consider the following questions in the body of your paper:
a. How does Barbin understand her own identity before, during, and after the discovery of her so-called "true self"?
b. What constitutes normal masculinity and femininity according to Barbin and the doctors?
c. To what extent was "normality" based on biology versus culture or lived experience?
d. In addition to the mistaken sex designation, what about Barbin's sexual identity would be termed "unnatural" by physicians reading Tardieu's publication of her case in the 1870s?
Papers are due in class March 13th. The deadline is not negotiable after February 27th, unless there is a medical emergency supported by suitable documentation. Print out and attach a copy of the Analytical Paper Checklist (the is a pdf file -- download Adobe Acrobat if needed) to your papers when submitting the final draft. Assignments should be handed in lecture, but they may also be placed in the drop-box outside the history department office (400 Paterson Hall), where they will be collected, date-stamped, and placed in my mailbox. Papers cannot be accepted via email and will not be graded if thrown under my office door. Late papers will be penalized for each day they are late (i.e. an "A" paper which is a day late becomes an "A-" etc.) and students are likewise required to keep a copy of the paper until it is returned. In order to combat plagiarism, a random selection of students will be asked to submit their essay notes.
Please don't hesitate to come by my office with any questions or queries you may have regarding this assignment.
Good Luck!
Jennifer Evans