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Articles 31 - 60 of 1644

Full-Text Articles in History of Gender

“Be Only A Man": Authority, Dependency, And Masculinity In Geniza Letters Of Mothers To Their Sons, Oded Zinger Jan 2026

“Be Only A Man": Authority, Dependency, And Masculinity In Geniza Letters Of Mothers To Their Sons, Oded Zinger

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

One of the most exciting discoveries among the Cairo Geniza, a rich trove of ancient manuscripts discovered in the Ben Ezra Synagogue at Fustat (Old Cairo), is women’s letters. Up until the early modern period, we have no text written by a Jewish woman preserved in traditional channels of transmission—that is, manuscripts copied by scribes and preserved in libraries or personal collections. Yet the Geniza documents preserve over two hundred letters written by women in different languages and spanning several centuries. Twenty-nine of these letters are from mothers to sons. Letters from mothers to sons have some distinctive characteristics when …

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Gender And Historiography In The Construction Of The Image Of King John And Queen Violant Of Aragon, Oriol Catalán Jan 2026

Gender And Historiography In The Construction Of The Image Of King John And Queen Violant Of Aragon, Oriol Catalán

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

The reign of John I of Aragon (r. 1387–1396) and his second wife Violant de Bar has been often denigrated by Catalan historiography with political arguments but also because of ensuing gender debates associating the shortcomings of his reign with his supposed manly weakness. This article deconstructs both political and gendered representations of the Aragonese monarchs by distinguishing what is reasonably attributable to them from accusations motivated by the conflicts of the time and later contexts. Drawing upon the concepts of “hegemonic masculinity” and “multiple masculinities,” the article compares the gender representations of King John I and Queen Violant in …

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“Softer Than A Woman?" Gendered Images In Odo Of Cheriton’S Anti-Judaic Sermon, Jussi Hanska, Sari Katajala-Peltomaa Jan 2026

“Softer Than A Woman?" Gendered Images In Odo Of Cheriton’S Anti-Judaic Sermon, Jussi Hanska, Sari Katajala-Peltomaa

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This article analyzes the intersection of the anti-Judaic and gendered motifs presented in English theologian and preacher Odo of Cheriton’s (d. 1246–1247) sermon for the tenth Sunday after the Holy Trinity. The sermon features an exemplum that is a distorted reinterpretation of a story originally found in Jewish historian Flavius Josephus’s Bellum iudaicum, which describes the siege and fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. In one memorable passage Josephus tells how a Jewish woman named Mary loses her mind because of the hardships of the siege and hunger, kills and roasts her baby boy, and eats it. Yet Odo …

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Conversion And The Reconfiguration Of Religious Gender Roles: Conversas And Moriscas In Late Medieval Iberia, Ivana Arsić Jan 2026

Conversion And The Reconfiguration Of Religious Gender Roles: Conversas And Moriscas In Late Medieval Iberia, Ivana Arsić

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This study addresses the impact of the cultural homogenization policy in late medieval Castilian and Aragonese societies by analyzing Spanish Inquisition documents through a gendered lens. Specifically, this article illustrates how these records depict the religious experiences of Conversas and Moriscas (Christian women of Jewish and Muslim origin, respectively). Whereas recent investigations within cultural studies have engaged in descriptive analysis of female conversion, this article will provide a causal explanation through a comparative gendered perspective, arguing that women’s heightened involvement in religion was particular to the context of forced conversion. Toward this end, I first examine how Jewish and Muslim …

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Fashioning The Body Politic: Explorations Of The Political Semiotics Of Fashion In France And England During The French Revolution, Annika F. Gauthier Jan 2026

Fashioning The Body Politic: Explorations Of The Political Semiotics Of Fashion In France And England During The French Revolution, Annika F. Gauthier

Scripps Senior Theses

In the midst of the French Revolution, women’s fashion underwent a complete revolution, moving from the multi-layered elaborate gowns of the ancien regime, to light, form-fitting dresses. These gowns reveal the way clothing reflects the political positions of women and the ways the French and the British used clothing to construct national identity and politics. Following research on the political symbolism and role of clothing across France and Britain, this thesis reviews fashion’s overarching connection to politics, revealing its role in the early French Revolution’s conception of women and patriotism, women’s responses to political exclusions, and rival nations’ adaptations of …

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‘She Dared Not’: Authority In The Monasteries Of The Diocese Of Lincoln, 1400-1540, Morgan Mcminn Jan 2026

‘She Dared Not’: Authority In The Monasteries Of The Diocese Of Lincoln, 1400-1540, Morgan Mcminn

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within monastic life, the Benedictine Rule prioritized the role of the abbot, and much of the everyday running of the house was left to his discretion. He was the elected father of the community, the pastor of the flock, the educator who instructed by word and example. He should discipline firmly but be loved and not feared, and he should play no favorite but rather adapt to the situation at hand. His brethren should obey him without question as the representative of Christ in the monastery, their self-will and earthly possessions submitted to him. These elements are also present in …

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The Coal Mining Kids: Constructing A Working-Class Gay World In West Virginia (1900-2001), Hannah Ford Jan 2026

The Coal Mining Kids: Constructing A Working-Class Gay World In West Virginia (1900-2001), Hannah Ford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Located in southwestern West Virginia, Bluefield has been the site of Bluefield State University, the Norfolk & Western Railway headquarters, the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, and the Shamrock Bar. The Shamrock was a gay bar opened by Helen Compton, in operation from the late 1960’s until 2001. Bluefield’s early industrial success in coal mining and the railroad quickly urbanized the space between 1900 and 1930, facilitating a diverse, working-class cultural foundation for Bluefield’s gay world. In the 1960’s, urban renewal efforts initiated by the War on Poverty, in combination with public awareness of homosexuality induced by the Lavender Scare, set the …

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Crafting The Right To Vote, Breana M. Mosher Jan 2026

Crafting The Right To Vote, Breana M. Mosher

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

This paper examines how British Suffragists between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries used traditionally feminine domestic crafts as tools of political protest and communication. Excluded from formal political speech and subjected to censorship, violence, and imprisonment, women in the suffrage movement transformed textiles such as banners, posters, embroidery, and postcards into powerful tools of visual propaganda. Through close evaluation of suffrage-era material culture, this paper argues that domestic crafts enabled women to reclaim their voices and publicly expose state violence and political repression. By employing symbolism, color, and slogan-based design, suffragists created a recognizable visual identity that countered …

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Missionary Body Politics: Physical Education In West China, 1905-1950, Cory Willmott Jan 2026

Missionary Body Politics: Physical Education In West China, 1905-1950, Cory Willmott

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Republican Era China saw a radical transformation in Chinese physical culture as it aimed to compete in the global geopolitics of nation-states. Employing an historical ethnographic approach, this paper outlines how the unique conditions of Sichuanese warlordism and secret societies affected missionary relations with the Guomindang (GMD) as they implemented increasingly militarized physical education programs. Before the 1928 GMD consolidation of power, missionaries and GMD educators aligned with the YM/ WCA in physical education programs. After the GMD moved their headquarters to Chongqing in 1938, relations soured between the GMD and the Sichuan missionaries. Although the latter had been the …

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“An Extremely Dangerous Institution:” The Cultures And Controversy Of Public Social Dances In Montana, 1900-1930, Danielle Allison Brown Jan 2026

“An Extremely Dangerous Institution:” The Cultures And Controversy Of Public Social Dances In Montana, 1900-1930, Danielle Allison Brown

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This paper explores public social dances east of the Continental Divide in Montana from 1900 to 1930. Rural social dances in schoolhouses and urban dances in dance halls created two different dance cultures. The relaxed nature of rural dances preserved the traditional values of nineteenth-century social dances, which reinforced community and family ties. Urban dances reflected the modern fads of the roaring twenties and challenged traditional values with sexual suggestiveness. Progressive Era moral reformers concerned about the possibility that social dance promoted illicit sexuality participated in an anti-dance movement and pushed for regulations of social dances. The anti-dance movement in …

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The Homemaker's Guide To Happiness: A Comparison Of Methods Used By Dissatisfied Mid-Twentieth Century American Housewives In Their Pursuit Of Fulfillment, Kristen Thompson Dec 2025

The Homemaker's Guide To Happiness: A Comparison Of Methods Used By Dissatisfied Mid-Twentieth Century American Housewives In Their Pursuit Of Fulfillment, Kristen Thompson

Graduate Masters Theses

In the mid-twentieth century, the United States of America had an unsung problem.The country had emerged from World War II as a superpower and the high of victory was still fresh, but under the surface the nation was desperately searching for stability to cope with the trauma of war. This search saw a cultural push back to traditional values and gender roles and a heavy focus on the nuclear family as the heart of society. As such, a great amount of pressure was placed on the shoulders of the American housewives who were at the center of the home and …

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An Analysis Of Narratives Representing Women’S Agency And Role In The Public Space In Najd In The Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries, Hanan Alazaz Dec 2025

An Analysis Of Narratives Representing Women’S Agency And Role In The Public Space In Najd In The Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries, Hanan Alazaz

Journal of Middle East and Islamic Studies

This paper is a review and analysis of historical narratives and poems to propose a framework of the agency of women in one of the most conservative regions in Arabia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Najd. These narratives include examples of recorded historical oral accounts and poems by women that exhibit women’s contribution to the public life and participation in the decision-making within their tribal communities. The narratives and literature discussed in the paper reflect these women’s involvement in the fields of education, politics, trade and military activity. Moreover, a reading of poetry that broadcasts their resistance to …

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Etymolgy And Phallocentrism, Renae Redling Dec 2025

Etymolgy And Phallocentrism, Renae Redling

Student Scholar Symposium

Historically, linguists view etymology as a distorted and frivolous practice. In the past, Etymology was used irresponsibly to devalue current usage. Etymology reveals the formation of words over time, providing context for language’s current meaning. The history of words, their etymology, has created the words we use today, curating present usage. Words are not simply signs but formed symbols with significance and history. The association of the English language with structures of power, and its firmly rooted context in a patriarchal culture has resulted in limited access to linguistic study for women. A history of patriarchal influence does not make …

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Stonewall:The Spark Of Queer Culture, Mariah M. Geisler Dec 2025

Stonewall:The Spark Of Queer Culture, Mariah M. Geisler

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The rebellion classified as Stonewall didn’t birth the gay liberation movement but spread it farther than it had gone before. Stonewall challenged people’s understanding of the laws pertaining to gender expression. The history was portrayed as being a reflection of white centralism, while the reality is that the event was built off the backs of racial minorities. Through a further understanding of 1960s gay counterculture, people can better realize the reasons for Stonewall. Stonewall was the historical event that popularized the spread of gay liberation movements, it gave people hope for a more accepting future. The present still feels the …

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Objects Of Power: Female Instrumentalists In Medieval To Early Modern Europe, Emma Scherrer Dec 2025

Objects Of Power: Female Instrumentalists In Medieval To Early Modern Europe, Emma Scherrer

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Women are difficult to locate in traditional histories of western music, especially performers and particularly instrumentalists. The relationship between a female performer, the instrument she played, and her audience was especially fraught, constituting a complicated web of gendered relations and power dynamics. An examination of the contexts in which women played instruments in medieval to early modern Europe elucidates how women in these societies interacted with music and musical institutions. While women were generally excluded from musical institutions and discouraged from playing most musical instruments, many women nevertheless chose to take up an instrument outside of professional contexts. From the …

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Opening The Door Of The Celluloid Closet, Melissa Hernandez Dec 2025

Opening The Door Of The Celluloid Closet, Melissa Hernandez

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

While watching the documentary, The Celluloid Closet, I was instantly intrigued by how queer people and cinema mixed. Going as far back to the black and white, silent films era, queer people have been used as comedic relief, but not in an appealing way. Constantly being the butt of the joke, disregard for queer people became so normalized that certain tropes started popping up in cinema. One trope that we can still see be used frequently in today’s films is the “bury your gays” trope (also known as the “dead lesbians syndrome”) where queer characters in cinema are not …

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Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp Dec 2025

Knowing One's Place At The Table: Taste As A Means Of Othering In The American Colonies, 1700-1775, Nicholas Harp

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis began as an inquiry into a simple question. How did people in the American colonies talk about the food that they ate? This question led to a fascinating look into the social dynamics of the people living in eighteenth century America. Their own personal writings demonstrate how they understood their place in society through the food that they ate. Moreover, they often wrote about the way that other people ate in ways that alienated or discriminated against different ethnic groups. A look into the secondary historiography revealed that other historians had noticed this trend. However, very few addressed …

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Pedagogical Escapism And Western Performativity: A Psycho-Aesthetic Critique Of Belly-Dance Adaption Symbolics, Maryam Farahani Nov 2025

Pedagogical Escapism And Western Performativity: A Psycho-Aesthetic Critique Of Belly-Dance Adaption Symbolics, Maryam Farahani

Comparative Woman

This paper addresses positionality misreading in Western pedagogical adaptions of belly dancing. Raqs Sharqi, known in the West as belly dancing, is a predominantly West Asian and North African discipline and performance art with multimodal varieties, globally taught and practiced while crossing sport, narratology, and story-telling boundaries. As a unique performance activity, it portrays a dynamic entertainment space to connect one’s multiple identities. I argue that Raqs Sharqi, not only as an aesthetic-educational art form but also, perhaps unwittingly, reiterated as an Orientalist communication trope in belly dancing, has forged East-West performativity models. However, the historical education-literature for Western women …

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Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray Nov 2025

Investigating The Relationship Between Noun Classes And Plant Folk Taxonomy In Chasu Language Of Kilimanjaro Region In Tanzania, Peter Rabson Mziray

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The current study investigates the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu (G 22). The study focuses on two objectives: the first objective is to describe the plant folk taxonomy in Chasu and the second objective is to determine the relationship between noun classes and plant folk taxonomy in Chasu. Data were collected from rural villages in Same and Mwanga districts by using free listing, field interviews (jungle-walk-and-identify), and written texts containing Chasu plant names. The findings reveal that Chasu folk taxonomy reflects different ethnobotanical categories; including a unique beginner which is mmea/mimea ‘plant(s)’, and three life …

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Casar Public Lecture: The Fierce Battle For The 2024 Us Presidency: Race, Gender, And The Power Of Identity Politics, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar Oct 2025

Casar Public Lecture: The Fierce Battle For The 2024 Us Presidency: Race, Gender, And The Power Of Identity Politics, The Prince Alwaleed Center For American Studies And Research Casar

Performances, Events, and Presentations

In light of the upcoming 2024 US Elections, we hosted this lecture on SUNDAY OCTOBER 27TH - 1-2 pm titled: "The Fierce Battle for the 2024 US Presidency: Race, Gender, and the Power of Identity Politics." Speakers: CASAR guest speaker Dr. Sherri McFarland - moderated by CASAR Assistant to Director and Adjunct Faculty Yasmeen El-Ghazaly. Dr. Sherri Lynn McFarland's academic and professional careers demonstrate her passionate desire to contribute to the economic, social, and political progress of African and Middle Eastern North African (MENA) countries and their diasporic communities. Her keen interest in the people of these regions led her …

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Keep Searching For Stories: The Importance Of Student Historical Research In The Ai Era, Emily Westkaemper Oct 2025

Keep Searching For Stories: The Importance Of Student Historical Research In The Ai Era, Emily Westkaemper

Feminist Pedagogy

This critical commentary interprets the risk that increased reliance on AI will disrupt student researchers’ direct engagement with historical primary sources. Close analysis of primary source details supports feminist history and digital history approaches, helping researchers contextualize histories of marginalization and interrogate scholarly and popular narratives about the past. Search engines and databases can promote access to digitized documents. By contrast, large language models reflect contemporary biases and communication patterns, manufacturing general declarations about historical significance that do not prioritize digitized primary source materials. I experimented with AI queries about participants in the 1977 National Women’s Conference (NWC), a topic …

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The Trial Of Musammat Kelee: Widowhood, Infanticide, And Colonial Justice In Early Twentieth Century India, Rashmi Banerjee Oct 2025

The Trial Of Musammat Kelee: Widowhood, Infanticide, And Colonial Justice In Early Twentieth Century India, Rashmi Banerjee

Socio-Legal Review

This article examines the 1920 trial of Musammat Kelee, a Hindu widow from Ajmer-Merwara, accused of drowning her illegitimate infant son in a lake. Drawing on extensive trial records, police reports, and official correspondence, it reconstructs the procedural history of her case and situates it within broader colonial debates on female sexuality, widowhood, and infanticide. Kelee’s conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, despite weak evidence, hinged on judicial emphasis on her widowhood and the perceived illegitimacy of her child as proof of motive. Yet her subsequent pardon by the Viceroy’s office reflected a contradictory administrative impulse that …

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Breeding, Mariah Susan, Wendy Chapkis Phd Oct 2025

Breeding, Mariah Susan, Wendy Chapkis Phd

Querying the Past: LGBTQ Maine Oral History Project Collection

In this interview, Breeding, a 75-year-old queer woman, explores questions of identity, culture, and activism. Breeding was born in New Hampshire, grew up in Ohio, and moved back to the East Coast as a teenager. She moved to Maine at 21, living in Ogunquit and Portland. Breeding discusses her family's background, including her parents' contrasting social classes, and the importance of a Unitarian Universalist group in creating early community. An important subject in the interview is Breeding’s first significant relationship with astrologer Wendy Ashley in Ogunquit and Portland, Maine. She discuses the complex bisexual and polyamorous culture of the 1970s, …

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Anishinaabe Nibiing: Anishinaabe Waterscapes And Canoe Building As Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Jeremy Kingsbury Sep 2025

Anishinaabe Nibiing: Anishinaabe Waterscapes And Canoe Building As Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Jeremy Kingsbury

The Cicadian

This paper explores the cultural, ecological, and technological significance of birch bark canoe (wiigwaasi-jiimaan) building among the Anishinaabe people, emphasizing their identity as an inland maritime society. Drawing on historical accounts, oral traditions, and personal experience as a park ranger, the author examines the intricate process of harvesting materials and constructing canoes, highlighting the deep environmental knowledge and gendered labor involved. The canoe served not only as a vital means of transportation and subsistence—facilitating fishing, wild rice harvesting, and seasonal migration—but also as a symbol of familial and spiritual connection. Through detailed descriptions of material selection and craftsmanship, …

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The Age Of The Sporting, Soaplocks, And Separate Spheres, Mitchell Lohr Sep 2025

The Age Of The Sporting, Soaplocks, And Separate Spheres, Mitchell Lohr

The Ozark Historical Review

In the mid-nineteenth century in America a new market economy spurred increasing numbers of people to leave their homes in rural areas in favor of rapidly growing urban areas. This paper investigates the lives of the young men in urban settings and how they impacted American culture at large and the development of the middle-class.

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A Religious Etiology Of Genito-Pelvic Pain And Pain With Penetration, Emily L. Carlson Aug 2025

A Religious Etiology Of Genito-Pelvic Pain And Pain With Penetration, Emily L. Carlson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Pelvic pain during penetration (PPDP) has been described using various diagnostic terms, including vaginismus, dyspareunia, and vulvodynia. The most recent and comprehensive classification is Genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder (GPPPD) which is characterized by psychological distress associated with pain during or in anticipation of vaginal penetration (DSM-5-TR; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022). The etiology of PPDP is multifactorial, involving a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and relational factors. Religious and cultural influences may play a significant role in shaping individuals’ experiences of sexual pain. This study investigated the etiology of PPDP in relation to the religious influences among women raised in Judeo-Christian …

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Elizabeth Female Academy: A Historical Case Study Revealing Antebellum Mississippi's Role In Shaping The Southern Belle, Summer Cutrer Tierno Aug 2025

Elizabeth Female Academy: A Historical Case Study Revealing Antebellum Mississippi's Role In Shaping The Southern Belle, Summer Cutrer Tierno

Dissertations

Historians and educational scholars have extensively examined the subject of women's education, resulting in a rich body of literature that traces its evolution over the centuries. Moreover, this body of work encompasses significant movements advocating for women's rights to education and the establishment of colleges specifically for women. Scholars have also analyzed the challenges women encounter in accessing educational opportunities, including societal norms, economic barriers, and institutional discrimination. Notable works highlight the contributions of key figures, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, who advocated for women's education in both historical and contemporary contexts. Overall, this comprehensive scholarship not only documents the advancement …

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In The Name Of The Mother, The Nation, And The Race: White Women, The Jim Crow South, & Moralized White Supremacist Feminism, Shayna M. Lawson Aug 2025

In The Name Of The Mother, The Nation, And The Race: White Women, The Jim Crow South, & Moralized White Supremacist Feminism, Shayna M. Lawson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis introduces the concept of moralized white supremacist feminism to examine the central role white women played in constructing, legitimizing, and sustaining racial hierarchies in the Jim Crow South through a network of cultural and political organizing, particularly through the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Women’s Ku Klux Klan. Far from passive observers, white women were strategic agents of segregation, leveraging ideals of purity, motherhood, and moral virtue to enforce anti-Black violence and oppression through educational, civic, legal, and symbolic institutions, as well as extra-legal practices. Drawing from archival materials, oral histories, and critical race theory, this study …

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"Female Faithfulness Encouraged": Gendered Piety In Early American Print, Kadienne Sizemore Jul 2025

"Female Faithfulness Encouraged": Gendered Piety In Early American Print, Kadienne Sizemore

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

Following the American Revolution, membership in Baptist churches grew exponentially and the influence of the Baptist persuasion was significant. As one of the fastest growing Protestant denominations in early America, Baptists and their interests were often indicative of larger trends in religiosity. Conceptions of piety, including beliefs surrounding submission, faithfulness, and duty, were central to the structure of Baptist congregations and their proximate communities. This paper explores the role of gender in the discussion, presentation, and justification of Baptist notions of piety in their publications during the Early American Republic. To build on the work of historians exploring female autonomy …

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Xyy: Why? Science For The People And The Xyy Controversy, Fern Rice Jul 2025

Xyy: Why? Science For The People And The Xyy Controversy, Fern Rice

The Purdue Historian

The mid-20th century saw a boom of scientific discoveries in genetics as people sought to understand the American political landscape through genomes. The desire to understand criminality through genetics rose as counterculture surged. The genetic defect known as “XYY syndrome” became connected to criminality through biased medical studies and sensationalized criminal cases worldwide. When the National Institute of Mental Health began to fund studies attempting to prove a link between XYY syndrome and criminality, organizations concerned with scientific justice took notice. The leftist organization Science for the People campaigned against an XYY study in Boston, deeming it unethical and biologically …

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