Researching and Writing Women's History

Overview

Throughout history, women have played a vital role. However, their lives have often been overlooked by their contemporaries and their historians. In recent years, historians have begun to recover the role of women to explore the complex landscape of the past. 
In this course we will explore how historians have recovered the role of women in the past and how we can continue to explore this today. We will explore the resources available to us as researchers, how we can use them, and how we can reclaim the life of women from these sources. Additionally, we will explore several case studies to analyse the role of women in the past, including the role of women in 
politics, family life, wars, religion, and industry and domestic service throughout history. 
This course examines several issues surrounding women’s history and will equip you with the skills to contribute with your own research. 

Programme 

  (1). Introduction – module outline, assessments, the historiography of women’s history 
  (2). Researching and writing women’s history – the tools and resources available to us
  (3). Women in the Political Sphere
  (4). Women at War and on the Home Front
  (5). Women, the Family, and Gendered Norms
  (6). Women in Industry and Domestic Service 
  (7). Women in Religion 
  (8). Women and Culture
  (9). How do we present our findings? Writing women’s history
(10). Conclusion

Learning Outcomes

Identify and discuss the problems encountered by the researcher of women’s history explain how these problems can be overcome with appropriate research techniques examine and analyse the role of women Demonstrate an understanding of how one’s findings can be presented to a wide audience in an accessible way.

Assessments

• Written assignment (500 word) 30%
• Essay (1500 word) 70%

Reading Suggestions

Reading suggestions will be offered throughout the course. 

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements. 

What Do I Need?

As this is an online course, you would need the following:

• Internet access.
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also benefit.
• Use of the Chrome web browser where possible.