In this bold reinterpretation of Women's changing labor status during the late medieval and early modern period, Martha C. Howell argues that women's work was the product of the intersection of two systems, one cultural and one economic. Howell shows forcefully that patriarchal family structure, not capitalist development per se, was a decisive factor in determining women's work. Women could enjoy high labor status if they worked within a family production unit or if their labor did not interfere with their domestic responsibilities or threaten male control of a craft or trade.
Later generations have sometimes found such actions perplexing, often dismissing them as evidence that business people of the late medieval and early modern worlds did not fully understand market rules.
In this bold reinterpretation of Women's changing labor status during the late medieval and early modern period, Martha C. Howell argues that women's work was the product of the intersection of two systems, one cultural and one economic. Howell shows forcefully that patriarchal family structure, not capitalist development per se, was a decisive factor in determining women's work. Women could enjoy high labor status if they worked within a family production unit or if their labor did not interfere with their domestic responsibilities or threaten male control of a craft or trade.
Medieval Douai was one of the wealthiest cloth towns of Flanders, and it left an enormous archive documenting the personal financial affairs of its citizens—wills, marriage agreements, business contracts, and records of court disputes over property rights of all kinds. Based on extensive research in this archive, this book reveals how these documents were produced in a centuries-long effort to regulate—and ultimately to redefine—property and gender relations. At the center of the transformation was a shift from a marital property regime based on custom to one based on contract. In the former, a widow typically inherited her husband's property; in the latter, she shared it with or simply held it for his family or offspring. Howell asks why the law changed as it did and assesses the law's effects on both social and gender meanings but she insists that the reform did not originate in general dissatisfaction with custom or a desire to disempower widows. Instead, it was born in a complex economic, social and cultural history during which Douaisiens gradually came to think about both property and gender in new ways.
This collection of five essays examines the ways in which history, as a discipline, currently reflects ongoing scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. In "Rethinking History," Carol Ruth Berkin reviews the incorporation of social history into elementary, secondary, and postsecondary textbooks. In "History--Writing from the Margins," Martha C. Howell examines the effects of social history on the profession and the interdisciplinary nature of much of the scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. In "Puerto Rican Women's Historiography and the Inclusive Curriculum," Altagracia Ortiz traces the development of Puerto Rican women's history over the last several decades and notes the lack of inclusion of Puerto Rican history into the curriculum. In "American Social History," Myra B. Young Armstead argues that the study of issues surrounding gender, race, ethnicity, and social class have directly challenged conventional historical wisdom and augmented historians' understanding of the past. In "Measuring Impact," Judith P. Zinsser argues that while the field of women's history has grown exponentially over the last several decades, women's experiences continue to be subsumed under men's history or fall prey to old denigrating prejudices. Most essays contain references. (MDM)
This collection of five essays examines the ways in which history, as a discipline, currently reflects ongoing scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. In "Rethinking History," Carol Ruth Berkin reviews the incorporation of social history into elementary, secondary, and postsecondary textbooks. In "History--Writing from the Margins," Martha C. Howell examines the effects of social history on the profession and the interdisciplinary nature of much of the scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. In "Puerto Rican Women's Historiography and the Inclusive Curriculum," Altagracia Ortiz traces the development of Puerto Rican women's history over the last several decades and notes the lack of inclusion of Puerto Rican history into the curriculum. In "American Social History," Myra B. Young Armstead argues that the study of issues surrounding gender, race, ethnicity, and social class have directly challenged conventional historical wisdom and augmented historians' understanding of the past. In "Measuring Impact," Judith P. Zinsser argues that while the field of women's history has grown exponentially over the last several decades, women's experiences continue to be subsumed under men's history or fall prey to old denigrating prejudices. Most essays contain references. (MDM)
Ellen S. Woodward (1887-1971) was touted as Roosevelt's second most powerful woman appointee. Among American women only Eleanor Roosevelt and Labor Department Secretary Frances Perkins could claim more elevated roles in the circle of FDR's administration. This long overdue biography of such a remarkable leader traces Woodward's odyssey from the parlors of her Mississippi clubwomen associates to a position as director of women's work relief under three successive New Deal agencies from 1933 to 1938. Swain depicts Woodward in the vital roles she took in alleviating the working woman's plight. Particularly rich is Swain's account of Woodward's attempts to remain vital in policymaking during the Truman era, when Eleanor Roosevelt was no longer the central figure of the women's coterie. Without minimizing the limitations of the programs under Woodward's aegis, Swain gives ample attention to the operation and internal dynamics of her ambitious projects. Though some of Woodward's project proved to be disappointing, others became rich legacies for programs in later administrations.
A lifetime of wisdom has been compiled on the pages of Martha! Martha! As each author shares from the insights gained from their personal walk with God, we are invited to join the adventure that leads the willing heart to growth in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.