Feminist Historiography Flashcards
Who was Catherine Macauley?
1731-1791
Female and feisty
Published 8 volumes
Wrote ‘History of England from the Reign of James I’
Supported republicanism was against too much monarchial power
Pioneer of women’s history
What did Catherine MacCauley advocate for in Letters on Education?
Equal education for men and women
Who was Eileen Power
1889 - 1940
Suffragette
Wrote on medieval women
Which particular group of women did Eileen Power focus on?
Domestic life in nunneries
What other things did Eileen Power believe in?
Pacifism
Higher education of women (which she thought, like Greer and Beauvoir, would bring equality)
She tried to write history from below
What did Natalie Davis say about Eileen Power?
She was forgotten because of those that came after her didn’t keep her memory. She stepped aside for her husband to get a particular job.
Name the pioneers of first wave feminism?
Alice Clark, Ivy Pinchbeck, Eileen Power, Dorothy George
Who was Alice Clark?
A historian from the famous Clark family who wrote ‘Working life in the women of the 17th century’
What was Alice Clark’s approach to the IR?
Pessimistic - that it was bad for women
How did Alice Clark feel about capitalism?
She was anti-capitalist - almost marxist, although it is unlikely she came into contact with his ideas
What kind of primary sources did Alice Clark use?
Letters, diaries, wills, account books, magistrates, wage rates, parish records, guild and municipal records, tax returns and workhouse records.
Why did she think women were important?
Because of their importance to men
Criticisms of Alice Clark?
Too simplistic
Only focused on a small group of women
Saw the middle class as important
Put too strong an emphasis on subsistence households which she saw as central to women loss of power
Who was Ivy Pinchbeck?
1898-1982
‘Women workers in industrial revolution 1750-1860’
What was Pinchbecks view on the IR?
That it was a positive experience for women and that it freed them from the home
Why did Pinchbeck and Clark come to different conclusions?
Didn’t focus on the same groups
Different experiences before coming to the history
Who was Dorothy George?
1878-1971
Wrote London LIfe in 18th century which looked at poorer classes in England
What was different in Dorothy George?
She included women as a matter of course - their inclusion was natural and not forced
Alice Clark, Dorothy George and Ivy Pinchbeck were all involved in the same civil rights movement, what was it?
Female suffrage
Who brought up arguments that women were not capable of voting?
Sir E Almroth Wright
Surgeon and writer - developed vaccination for tyhpoid
When was female suffrage instituted?
1929
What did Pinchbeck and Clark consider as the starting point for women history?
Economic contributions
What were Alice Clark’s view on IR?
- things got worse for women for women when they were paid as individuals rather than as a family
- Men working in factories excluded them from family work
- Middle class women were removed from life - they weren’t needed
What did Pinchbeck think about the IR?
- Women excluded from household labour
- Women had their own indepedant wage whcih was good for them
- Looked at a wider range of women
How were the feminist historians connected with left wing crtiiques of captalism?
Marxism, capitalism, history from below, Engels and the family
Features of Feminist Historiography?
- Female perspectives
- Doesn’t embed norms of maleness/patriarchy
- Uses personal sources
- Reads into the margins
- Social realism/lots of detail
- History from below
- Experiences are not homogenous
Feaures of Second Wave Feminism?
- 1960-1990 (David says no)
- Post WW2
- Private vs. Public sphere
- Biology creates inequality and social injustice and is the sources of patriarchy
- Local and national
- Challenged popular culture
Who Was Sheila Rowbotham?
1943-
Wrote ‘Hidden from History: 300 years of womens oppression and fight against it’
Skimmed history
Who was Shulamith Firestone?
1945-2012 Wrote 'Dialectic of Sex' 1970 Biology is hte root cuase of oppression Created a dialectic which is biological Biological changes and innovations in tehcnology is what spurs the changes in society on
Limitations of Feminism?
Some thought it would give new ways of imaging history but it hasn’t
Hasn’t agreed a new agreed chronology
Cateogories more flexible than sex are being looked into
Patriarchy isn’t enough to explain contrasts between culture and time
Achievements of Feminism?
Added sex to the debate
Womens stories are being told
Civil rights are being gained
