Women's History Commons^™

Double Mint And Double Standard: American Attitudes Toward Women Chewing Gum, 1880–1930, Brooke Sutton

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

"Rebel Girls" Reevaluated: Gender In The Lives Of Three Wobbly Women, Jake Andersen

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

The "Science Of Motherhood", Bethany Morey

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

"This Dangerous Ascendancy": Women's Political Participation In The French Revolution, Natalie Merten

The Thetean: A Student Journal for Scholarly Historical Writing

No abstract provided.

Morton, Lilith - Letters To, 1897-1900 (Mss 701), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Genealogical Records

Letters addressed to Lilith Morton of Mortons Gap in Hopkins County, Kentucky, 1897-1900. Click on "Additional File" below to see more information about Lilith Morton and the letters.

Amjambo Africa! (August 2020), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

News from Africa ........................p.2

Art Shows....................................p. 3

Publisher’s Editorial ....................p. 4

French .......................................... p.5

Swahil............................................p.6

Somali ...........................................p.7

Canada-U.S. Border.....................p.7

COVID-19 Tips ...........................p. 8

Mills Administration ...................p. 9

Finance/Building Credit ...........p. 10

World Market Basket ..........p. 12/13

Leyla Hashi ................................p. 14

Election season .........................p. 15

Blaine House Visit ....................p. 16

Angolan Community of Maine p. 16

Legislative Update.....................p 17

Awards to community groups p. 17

Kinyarwanda .............................p.18

Portuguese .................................p.19

In Her Presence ....................... p. 20

Columns ....................................p. 21

A Unique Type Of Loneliness: Infertility In Nineteenth-Century America, Abigail Butler

Theses and Dissertations from 2020

Many diaries and letters written by nineteenth-century Americans display the aching for parenthood and pain of loss due to miscarriage. Though some women felt joy or relief when they recognized they had miscarried or were not pregnant, infertility negatively affected the everyday lives of many men and women in the nineteenth century. Infertility not only disturbed their personal beliefs of family and their role in society, but could cause marital discord, feeling outcast from society, and could lead to other health problems. Women in slavery faced even more serious consequences that included being sold away from their family and/or receiving …

The Pattern Of American Society: Treatment Of Korean War Brides In The United States Following The Korean War, Tatiana Moore

Undergraduate Research Journal

While serving overseas in the early to mid-twentieth century, American servicemen often engaged in relationships with foreign women and wanted to bring these women back to the United States as wives. Following the Korean War, many of the more than 6,000 women who married American military men immigrated to the United States. Often referred to as GI War Brides, these women faced discrimination, tried to assimilate into American culture, and struggled to share their stories. Through the examination of government documents, personal stories, and cultural expectations, this paper argues that Korean War Brides’ experiences in America differed very little from …

Radical Renewal, The Sisters Of Loretto, Nouvelle Theologie, And The Second Vatican Council., Carol Bolton Easterly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the experiences of women who were members of the Sisters of Loretto, an American congregation of women religious, in the years around the Second Vatican Council (1962 – 65). It argues that the ideas of nouvelle théologie – a movement among progressive European Catholic scholars aimed at reconnecting faith with lived experience – had a profound impact on how the Sisters of Loretto interpreted the Council’s directives. The movement’s core ideas: ressourcement, a return to original sources of Christian inspiration; an overlapping relationship between natural and supernatural; and the importance of Church engagement with modern social …

Imagining Margaret Garner: The Tragic Life Of An American Woman, Cecilia M. Smith

History in the Making

There is limited information on the life of the nineteenth century female slave with most details compiled from the narratives of well-known women such as Sojourner Truth. Professor Erlene Stetson and other historians argue that scholars treat slavery as a male phenomenon and the female is merely looked upon as a breeder, while noted African-American activist Angela Davis calls for a more accurate portrayal to debunk derogatory myths. This paper addresses the issue of image with the argument that the enslaved African-American woman possessed no image of her own. It focuses on the story of a runaway female slave named …

Militarizing Marriage : West African Soldiers’ Conjugal Traditions In Modern French Empire, Sarah J. Zimmerman

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

Following tirailleurs sénégalais’ deployments in West Africa, Congo, Madagascar, North Africa, Syria-Lebanon, Vietnam, and Algeria from the 1880s to 1962, Militarizing Marriage historicizes how African servicemen advanced conjugal strategies with women at home and abroad. Sarah J. Zimmerman examines the evolution of women’s conjugal relationships with West African colonial soldiers to show how the sexuality, gender, and exploitation of women were fundamental to the violent colonial expansion and the everyday operation of colonial rule in modern French Empire.

These conjugal behaviors became military marital traditions that normalized the intimate manifestation of colonial power in social reproduction across the empire. Soldiers’ …

Her-Story: The Forgotten Part Of The Civil Rights Movement, Elizabeth Guzman

History in the Making

No abstract provided.

"She Was Surprised And Furious": Expatriation, Suffrage, Immigration, And The Fragility Of Women's Citizenship, 1907-1940, Felice Batlan

All Faculty Scholarship

This article stands at the intersection of women’s history and the history of citizenship, immigration, and naturalization laws. The first part of this article proceeds by examining the general legal status of women under the laws of coverture, in which married women’s legal existence was “covered” by that of their husbands. It then discusses the 1907 Expatriation Act, which resulted in women who were U.S. citizens married to non-U.S. citizens losing their citizenship. The following sections discuss how suffragists challenged the 1907 law in the courts and how passage of the Nineteenth Amendment—and with it a new concept of women’s …

Amjambo Africa! (July 2020), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Publisher’s Editorial ....................p. 4

Translations French ...................................... p.5

Swahili...................................... p.6

Somali ....................................... p.7

Kinyarwanda ..........................p.18

Portuguese .............................p.19

News from Africa ........................p. 8

Business, Economics & Financial Literacy...................p. 10

World Market Basket ..........p. 12/13

Legislative Update ......p 17/20/21/9

Community News......................p. 16

Columns..............................................

About hair .................................p. 20

Hope House ..............................p. 19

Safe Healthcare .........................p. 21

“Deserting The Broad And Easy Way”: Southern Methodist Women, The Social Gospel, And The New Deal State, 1909-1939, Chelsea Hodge

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the course of three decades, white southern Methodist women took on issues of labor and poverty through their national women’s organization, the Woman’s Missionary Council (WMC). Between 1909 and 1939, the WMC focused their work on five groups of people they viewed as in need of their help: women, children, black southerners, immigrants, and rural people. Motivated by the Social Gospel and an intense belief that their faith led them to effect real change in the American South, the WMC intervened in people’s lives, pursuing reform that could at times be maternalistic and condescending but at other times radical …

The Emotional Toil Of Paying For College: Lower Socioeconomic Status White Women’S College Experiences, 1880-1920, Heidi A. Jaeckle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Typically historical inquiries in higher education have been centered on privileged individuals from wealthier backgrounds who had the opportunity of attending primarily prestigious institutions. The experiences of college women from lower to middle class socioeconomic backgrounds have been for the most part ignored. This dissertation explores how socioeconomic backgrounds shaped the experiences of college women from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, focusing on lower class students. With no universal financial aid program, the majority of these women were from families who could afford to pay tuition. Women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds did attend college, but their …

Too Much And Too Graphic: Dr. Ruth Westheimer And The Struggle For 1980s And 1990s Feminism, Louisa Marshall

Voces Novae

During the second wave of feminism, spanning from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, the United States saw unprecedented levels of change regarding the status of women. However, the conservative administrations of Reagan and H.W. Bush that followed turned the tides against the feminist movement and towards re-establishing traditional gender roles. Trail blazing women, including sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, dedicated their 20th century careers to combating traditional sentiment, thus changing gender roles forever.

Women’S Attitudes Towards Wife-Beating In Tanzania: Evidence From The 2015/16 National Demographic And Health Survey, Magashi Joseph, Neema Msenda

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Approval of wife-beating implies a continuous women victimisation which affects their health, wellbeing, and their involvement in productive activities in the economy. The study intends to investigate socioeconomic determinants of approval of wife-beating in Tanzania. The analysis uses cross-sectional data of a representative sample of 5,889 married women from the 2015/16 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey. Result shows that about 60% of married women approve wife-beating from their partners/husbands in Tanzania. Further, multivariate logistic regression estimates reveal that approval of wife beating is negatively associated with women involvement in decision-making, household economic status, women’s and partner’s education, and women media …

African American Women In The Domestic Service Industry During Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis, Kathryn Small

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis.

My paper focuses on the experiences of African American women, within the workplace, during Reconstruction. Whilst the Civil War resulted in the emancipation of the African American population, the day-to-day attainment of freedom posed a very different reality, most notably in respect of limited opportunities for economic advancement. All working women of this time were subjected to discrimination. However, black women were especially discriminated against due to their race. Most markedly, this can be seen in the fact that work opportunities available to black women were restricted …

Williams, Michael Ann (Fa 459), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and interview transcriptions for Folklife Archives Project 459. Interviews related to Sarah Gertrude Knott and the National Folk Festival conducted by Michael Ann Williams and Hillary Glatt as part of a joint project for the Kentucky Oral History Commission and Western Kentucky University. The audio interviews did not come with this collection. Interview transcriptions may be accessed by clicking on the "Download" button to the right and then clicking on the hyperlinks in the finding aid.

“The Speechmaking Of A Girl-Orator”: Reason, Gender, And Authority In Dorothy Hunter’S Free Trade Oratory, Erinn Elizabeth Campbell

Honors Projects

Dorothy M. Hunter (1881-1977) rose to prominence during the 1906 United Kingdom general election as a markedly “girlish” yet widely respected free trade orator. While men on the Edwardian public political platform typically built a reputation for oratorical prowess through theatrical displays of “heroic” masculinity, Hunter established her authority as a speaker through two very different (and apparently contradictory) strategies. Her performance of “charming” middle-class femininity helped demonstrate her right to speak on free trade as a “women’s question,” extending women’s traditional authority over matters of domestic consumption to include questions of political economy. Trusting in the power of education …

Lioness Club - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Mss 231), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 231. Minutes, financial records, yearbooks, historical information, correspondence and sundry other items related to the Lioness Club of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Consider The Source: The Media’S Coverage Of Female Fbi Agents In The 1970s, Kali Devarennes

The Forum: Journal of History

This paper explores the representation of female FBI agents in newspapers throughout the 1970s until the early 1990s. While this subject is not widely discussed, due to lack of exposure and research, this paper reveals how crucial these women were during this period as they redefined how society and male FBI agents viewed women in previously male-dominated fields. In 1970, the media responded to these women with a variety of assumptions and stereotypes defining women as sex objects, physically weak, and mentally unable to handle the dangerous work environment. Through examination of scholarly and primary sources, this paper uncovers the …

Amjambo Africa! (June 2020), Kathreen Harrison

Amjambo Africa!

In This Issue...

Ramadan 2020.............................p. 2

Introducing Africa News editor.p. 5

Pious Ali .......................................p. 6

Banyamulenge .............................p. 8

L/A Food needs ...........................p. 9

The Portrayal Of The Woman’S Suffrage Movement In High School History Textbooks, Michelle A. Devries

Masters Theses

The narrative of the woman’s suffrage movement in high school history textbooks varies from textbook to textbook and over time. Textbooks include different information, people, events, and interpretations of events. They employ different word choices and pictures. By using comparative analyzation of numerous popular high school textbooks, the pressure exerted by external economic, social, and political forces on the historical narrative can be seen. Studying the historical narrative in this way trains students to be discerning learners of history and equips them not only to recognize the bias in any historical narrative, but also to be able to analyze how …

The Greenville Investigation: Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And Boarding School Runaways, Kate Mook

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Indian boarding schools were created by the United States government in the nineteenth century in order to “civilize” and assimilate American Indians. In this research, I utilize public information regarding the missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) crisis in the United States as well as primary documents from a report by Special Agent Lafayette Dorrington of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Dorrington investigated the case of five American Indian girls who ran away from the Greenville Indian Industrial School in 1916.

I will refer to the documents as “The Greenville Investigation” instead of Dorrington’s title- “The Greenville Desertion” - …

Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History: An Examination Of The Life Of Jacqueline Cochran, Frankie Patino

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This thesis examines the life of aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran. The analysis starts from her childhood through her aviation career and ultimately concludes with the legacy she left behind. Through this examination various topics will be discussed and analyzed, such as but not limited to, Jackie’s childhood, Jaqueline Cosmetics, aviation, World War II specifically focusing on the WASPS, her late career and her “retirement.” Prominently highlighting her impact in aviation history and her eminent role in changing women’s place within it, this thesis explores the experience of Cochran and argues that she was a vital factor in women’s breakthrough into aviation …

Status Of Women In Nevada: K-12 Education Snapshot, Aika Dietz, Ana Rosas, Brenda Cruz Gomez, Caryll Batt Dziedziak, Jean Munson

Research Briefs

There has been a sudden increase in Nevada K-12 student population since 2003 ballooning student-teaching ratio and straining the educational system.

Status Of Women In Nevada: Higher Education Snapshot, Aika Dietz, Ana Rosas, Caryll Batt Dziedziak, Jean Munson

Research Briefs

Students may leave school due to a different educational environment, work and school adjustments without support from family and friends, a lack of financial planning and academic struggles.

Fuitina: Love, Sex, And Rape In Modern Italy, 1945–Present, Antonella Vitale

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The term fuitina in Sicilian dialect is a word used to describe a form of abduction, and is a variation of the more formal Italian term fuga, meaning a flight or escape. Fuitina, was essentially a sanctioned bride theft. Often, after the abduction of a woman, the abductor would seek a reparatory or rehabilitating marriage that would restore the woman’s “honor” and absolve the man of bride theft. Until 1981, the Italian legal system supported the practice of fuitina and rarely prosecuted men who kidnapped and raped women under the guise of this tradition. The practice of fuitina and …