Women Making History: Ten Objects, Many Stories
There has been a recent spurt of activity among American women as people approach the centennial of the adoption of women's suffrage in 1920. A record number of women are vying for political office. To demand change, women are banding together and taking to the streets. Inclusion and intersectionality are issues that women are wrestling with. While part of this activity was in response to the 2016 presidential election, its roots are firmly planted in 20th-century history, which is well-represented at Harvard's Schlesinger Library Building's 75th Anniversary Exhibit.
This course demonstrates the significance of archives in the construction of history. Professors Laurel Ulrich and Jane Kamensky, together with others from Harvard and beyond, demonstrate how women in the United States throughout the twentieth century pushed limits, campaigned for new rights, and challenged conventional views of what women could and should accomplish.
They explain how women generated change by embracing education, adopting new technology, creating inventive works of art; pushing against prejudice, and entering into new roles in public and private; via the analysis of 10 notable artifacts from the Schlesinger collection.
What you'll learn:
- The many ways ordinary people have created change
- The centrality of women in American history
- How history is complex, nonlinear, and in constant conversation with the present
- How objects can embody stories of change
- How our understanding of history is shaped by which stories are told
Duration: Estimated 8 weeks (2–3 hours per week)
Fee: free (optional upgrade available)
Self-paced: Progress at your own speed
Enroll here: https://www.edx.org/course/women-making-history-ten-objects-many-stories
