In this classic, pioneering work on the status and position of women, Mary R. Beard challenges the widely held belief that women have been subject to men throughout the ages. She tests this idea of subjection against historical realities--legal, religious, economic, social, intellectual, military, political, and philosophical--and finds it to be meritless. Beard traces the error back to Sir William Blackstone's interpretation of women's legal status after marrying ("the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during marriage") and argues against this view. In answer to male historians who have failed to acknowledge the real influence of women in history, she provides a lengthy record of outstanding women and their contributions throughout history.

Description This important publication is designed to introduce researchers to the opportunities for discovering American women's history and culture at the library of Congress. Covers materials such as textual sources, films, sound recordings, prints and photographs, and other audio or visual material. Intended for academics, advanced graduate students, genealogists, documentary filmmakers, set and costume designers, artists, actors, novelists, photo researchers, and general readers.

A Companion to Gender History surveys the history of womenaround the world, studies their interaction with men in genderedsocieties, and looks at the role of gender in shaping humanbehavior over thousands of years. An extensive survey of the history of women around the world,their interaction with men, and the role of gender in shaping humanbehavior over thousands of years. Discusses family history, the history of the body andsexuality, and cultural history alongside women’s history andgender history. Considers the importance of class, region, ethnicity, race andreligion to the formation of gendered societies. Contains both thematic essays and chronological-geographicessays. Gives due weight to pre-history and the pre-modern era as wellas to the modern era. Written by scholars from across the English-speaking world andscholars for whom English is not their first language.

This four-volume set documents the complexity and richness of women's contributions to American history and culture, empowering all students by demonstrating a more populist approach to the past. Based on the content of most textbooks, it would be easy to reach the erroneous conclusion that women have not contributed much to America's history and development. Nothing could be further from the truth. Offering comprehensive coverage of women of a diverse range of cultures, classes, ethnicities, religions, and sexual identifications, this four-volume set identifies the many ways in which women have helped to shape and strengthen the United States. This encyclopedia is organized into four chronological volumes, with each volume further divided into three sections. Each section features an overview essay and thematic essay as well as detailed entries on topics ranging from Lady Gaga to Ladybird Johnson, Lucy Stone, and Lucille Ball, and from the International Ladies of Rhythm to the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The set also includes a vast variety of primary documents, such as personal letters, public papers, newspaper articles, recipes, and more. These primary documents enhance users' learning opportunities and enable readers to better connect with the subject matter.

Completely updated to include with new chapters, this is second edition is a fascinating exploration of what happens to established ideads about men and women, and their roles, when different cultural systems come into contact.

"Anthologizes primary source materials about women's lives and presents an overview of the variety of women's experiences dating from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary Bosnia ... [including] Plato, Christine de Pizan, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Virginia Woolf, as well as sources that have never before been published in English. The collection ... ranges widely in terms of topic, social class, and geography; both male- and female-authored texts are included to present a range of normative, descriptive, and reflective materials"--Back cover