HISTORY 343: Women In World History: Inventors, Innovators, and Instigators
Soiland Humanities Building 116 MWF 11:45-12:50
Dr. Michaela Reaves
Hum 221 493-3381
reaves@clunet.edu
“One thing after another in my life was captured and stitched to be saved.”
Koly from Homeless Bird
“No matter how dark the tapestry God weaves for us, there is always a thread of grace.”
Hebrew saying
“Presently they reached the gates of the goddess's house, and as they stood there they could hear
Circe within, singing most beautifully as she worked at her loom, making a web so fine, so soft,
and of such dazzling colours as no one but a goddess could weave.” Homer, Odyssey, Book X
Women In World History: Inventors, Innovators, and Instigators
WEBSITE:
http://teacherweb.com/CA/CaliforniaLutheranUniversity/Reaves/apt5.aspx
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A thematic investigation of the “underside of history” using the
vehicle of textiles to search for “common threads” in the female experience. We will be using
the concept of textiles, a material artifact, to examine the different cultures studied. The class is
divided into three sections of approximately five weeks each with the reader and one book
assigned for each. The first section of inventors proceeds from prehistory to the Classical world
of Greece and Rome. The next section deals with innovators over a thousand year period of the
“middle ages.” The last section of instigators examines women as vehicles for change, from the
women who weave arpilleras in Chile to those who faced the Japanese in the Bataan death
march.
The class explores several topics including women and their role in the development of
agriculture and technology in the ancient Near East, the role of women in the empires of
Rome, the Moslems and China, the status of women in the Middle Ages in Europe, Africa, China
and Japan, and the role of women leaders throughout history. The class focuses on non-western
cultures, allowing about one third of the class to include western Europe. Remember we cannot
cover all of world history in sixteen weeks, so we will be highlighting events and cultures. The
history of women in the United States is discussed in the alternate year class.
OBJECTIVES:
Course Objectives
1) To evaluate the role of gender in work history
2) To look at one material artifact, textiles, as a reflection of the female experience
3) To examine the “underside” of history, and explore the roles of women in history
4) To expose the student to primary source evaluation techniques
5) To introduce the role of secondary source evaluation
6) To broaden the perception of history
7) To explore how to uncover information about women in history, particularly prehistory
8) To develop a sense of comfort for the student in giving presentations
9) To improve writing ability based on primary sources
10) To fulfill the Global Studies perspective
The following CLU Educational Objectives are addressed in this course:
 Development of Critical thinking skills in Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.
 Communication Skills in objectives 5 and 8
 Written communication skills as reflected in the four analysis papers
 Information literacy
 Historical, cultural and global perspectives
As outlined in the CLU History Departmental Goals, students who successfully complete this
course will:
 Analyze and comprehend primary source texts
 Use periodization and chronology as organizing principles
 Demonstrate knowledge of major historical events and their significance
EVALUATION:
The grade in this class will be determined by your written work and your oral participation,
as well as attendance and effort.
There will be four 5-7 page analytical essays based on primary sources. There will also be a
group presentation on one movie your group viewed. There will, of course, be two tests, a
midterm and a final. These will consist of essays and identification.
How to write the essay: what should you ask? Remember it all depends on primary source
analysis! http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/essay/essay.php
Essay #1
textiles
10%
DUE 10/3
Essay #2
primary source
10%
DUE 11/7
Essay #3
painting
10%
DUE 12/12
Example: http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/ 98journal/ayeung/
Class presentation (movie)
10%
DUE 12/8
Midterm
25%
10/24
Final
25%
12/15
Participation*
10%
RUBRIC: All papers are strictly graded on several criteria.
1) English grammar, usage, and spelling
2) Research and documentation (Chicago style)
3) Reasoning and presentation of argument
To earn an “A” a paper must have few, if any, errors in category one. In addition, each paper
must have a minimum of five reputable sources. Finally, the clarity, assumptions, and critical
thinking displayed in the paper are the final level of the grade. In other words, a flawless paper
that does not fulfill the assignment or present a thorough and competent argument will not earn
an “A”.
*Participation is based not only on attendance, but contribution to the class and courtesy.
Electronic equipment, e.g. cell phones, etc., in the classroom may have a negative impact on this
portion of the grade. Attendance is required. Each student gets two “free” days to miss before
the grade begins to drop. It also includes the class field trip on November 12, 2014 to the Getty
Villa.
Accommodations:
California Lutheran University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to
students with various documented disabilities (physical, learning, or psychological). If you are a
student requesting accommodations for this course, please contact your professor at the
beginning of the semester and register with the Coordinator for Students with Disabilities
(Pearson Library, Center for Academic Resources, Ext. 3260) for the facilitation and verification
of need. Faculty will work closely together with you and your coordinator to provide necessary
accommodations.
TEXTS: Women In World History: Reading from World History, Vol. I and II. Sarah S.
Hughes, 2002
Textiles: http://www.textilemuseum.org/commonthreads/
http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mweb/about/cost_about.asp LACMA
Primary texts on women: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/women/womensbook.html
Movies may change depending on availability.
Diamont, The Red Tent, London: Picador, 1998.
See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, NY: Random House, 2005.
Gowda, Shipli Somaya, Secret Daughter, NY: William Morrow, 2010.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/16/india.women/
MOVIES for Assignments (not shown in class, on hold in the library):
The Official Story (1985) about Argentina and the "disappeared"
The Story of Women (1990) abortionist in Vichy France
Paradise Road (1997) Bataan Death March
In the Time of the Butterflies (2001) Trujillo rebellion
Beyond Rangoon, (1995) Burma revolution
Water, (2006) Women in India
TOPICS: We have three primary topics,; women as inventors, innovators, and instigators.
We will spend approximately five weeks on each.
INVENTORS http://www.smith.edu/hsc/museum/ancient_inventions/hsclist.htm
WEEK 1 September 3
Beginnings: The !Kung and Oetzi
Film: Jared Diamond
Reading:
The !Kung (handout)
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~epsadm03/kung.html Geography
http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news276.htm ancient stone carvings
http://www.primitiveways.com/paint_a_mammoth.html paint a mammoth
Textile: Oetzi http://www.sintermeerten.nl/projecten/geschiedenis/projecten/Oetzi_en/%D6tzi2.htm
WEEK 2: September 8
Bread, Beer and Brewing: Cultural Beginnings
Film: Woman as Toolmaker
Reading:
Hughes, I, chap 1, pp. 9-26
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~reli205/andrew_beer/beer.html Biblical brew
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/ninkasi.htm how to brew
http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.5/hitchcock.html at
home
http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue2.5/kavanagh.html
beginnings of beer
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/d/250/whm.html case study on bowl
WEEK3: September 15
Women’s Work: Footprints
Film: Biblical Roots
Textile: Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat Genesis 37.3
Reading: Diamont
Reading from Textiles
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/ancient/AncientRepublish_937424.htm lice
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/survival/Alison_Austin/spinning.html spinning
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/survival/Alison_Austin/dyeing.html dying
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/survival/DeRamus_Durham_Laxton/brian.html
textiles
WEEK 4: September 22
The Growth of City States: Egypt and the Fertile Crescent
From Astarte to Nut
Film: Pharaoh Women?
Textile: http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/textil/index2.html
Reading: Hughes, I. chap.5, pp. 27-45 FGM handout
Scan through Jstor source. Copy and paste URL for article on Circumcision in Ancient
Egypt at
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00211753%28200106%2992%3A2%3C317%3ACCORMS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3
OR
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3080631
http://donsmaps.com/ukrainevenus.html astarte figures
http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news197.htm Venus hats
http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/Galleries/Default.html Egyptian art
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%20in%20ancient%20egypt.htm
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/hammurabilawcode.htm
WEEK 5: September 29
Women of Asia: Mulan, Nu Shu, the golden blossoms
Film: Nu Shu
Textile: The Weaving of a Dream For one version of the story see:
http://www.aaronshep.com/books/MagicBrocade.html#general
For samples of the type of art see silk brocade
http://www.baronboutique.com/brocade.htm
Reading:
Hughes: I , chap.6, pp. 97-111.
Essay #1 DUE on October 3
Warriors:
http://www.lothene.demon.co.uk/others/womenprehist
.html odd site..
http://www.scnf.org/history2.html
http://www.koryubooks.com/library/wwj1.html
China:
http://www.chinavoc.com/history/tang/women.htm
Documents:
http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/documents/banzhao.htm
INNOVATORS
WEEK 6: October 6
The Classical World: Greece and Rome
Textile: Arachne and Athena (copy on Eres) ,
Penelope Odyssey, Book II
http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.2.ii.html
Reading:
Hughes: I, ch. 5, pp. 79-96, chap. 7, pp.
113-128
http://www.indiana.edu/~anclife/welcome.html
http://www.forumromanum.org/life/johnston_3.html Rome and marriage
http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing2.html Roman clothing/women
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_rome.htm
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%20in%20ancient%20greece.htm
WEEK 7: October 13
Women of the Near East
Textile: “Clever Aneeat” Armenia " (Spring Season Carpet ‫)ناتسراهب ىلاق‬
Reading: Hughes II, chap. 2, pp. 33-50,
I, Chap. 9, pp. 150-171
http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%20in%20isr
ael.htm
http://www.cjh.org/academic/women.html Jewish history site
http://www.iranchamber.com/carpet/brief_history_persian_carp
et.php Persian (Sassanid) carpets
http://www.eruggallery.com/learnrugs/learn_hstry/lrn_hstry_rug
s.htm Early rugs
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/learning/car
pet.html Islamic World
WEEK 8: October 20
Women in Africa
MIDTERM October 24, 2014
Reading: Hughes, I, chap 11, pp, 189-205, FGM
handout
WEEK 9: October 27
Women of Africa:
Textile: Kente cloth and Mbuti cloth
Design your own: http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/kente/design2.htm
Film: Becoming a Woman in Okrika,
Reading: Hughes, I, chap. 12, pp. 207-226, II, chap. 6, pp. 113-136,
II, chap. 8, pp. 161-181
Bark cloth: http://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu/exhibits/mbuti/worksheet.html#motifs
Kente: http://art-smart.ci.manchester.ct.us/fiber-kente/kente.html
WEEK 10: November 3
Essay #2 DUE November 7
Early Middle Ages : Pit and Pedestal 1000-1500 CE in Europe
Textile: Bayeaux Tapestry http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/
Baldishol Tapestry http://www.aldus.dk/baldishol/default-eng.html
Film: Hildegard
http://library.thinkquest.org/12834/ The City of Women
Reading: Hughes, I, chap. 8, pp. 129-149, witchcraft handout
INSTIGATORS
WEEK 11: November 10
FIELD TRIP by bus to Getty Villa leaves c. 4:45 pm
India and the Silk Road
Textile:
Film: A Reputation: The Rape of Artemisia
Gentileschi 30 minutes
http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml
Reading: Hughes, I, chap. 3, pp. 47-62,
II chap. 3, pp. 51-70
http://www.civilization.ca/cultur/inde/indtch8e.html
Textiles of India
http://www.endsoftheearth.co.uk/shop/ind&b-emb.htm Kantha
WEEK 12: November 17
Middle Ages: Asia 1000-1500
Textile: Silk and
Film: Small Happiness
The Tale of the Genji 60 minutes
Reading Day—Nov. 26, 2014: Hughes I, chap. 10, 173-188, II, chap. 1, 13-32
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/WOMEN.HTM
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/omori/court/court.html Lady Murasaki’s diary (3)
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/kaibara.html essay
WEEK 13: November 24
Women since 1500: Enlightenment and Romance
Reading: Hughes, II, chap. 4, 71-88, handout
http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap5a.html French Revolution
http://www.ivcc.edu/gen2002/women_from_the_renaissance.htm Renaissance to Enlightenment
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/ENLIGHT.HTM European Enlightenment
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/virtual/core4-5.htm overview
http://home.att.net/~dawsonprof/bibliographyofromanticism.htm
bibliography
WEEK 14: December 1
Enlightened change
Presentation week on movies
Reading: II, chap. 7, pp. 140-159, chap., 9 and 10, pp. 1804-204
WEEK 15: December 8
FINAL PAPER DUE: December 12.
Women in the 20th century:
Textile: Arpillera, Hmong story clothes Dia’s Story Cloth
Samples in class
http://www.quiltethnic.com/hmong.html
http://www.wisinfo.com/sheboyganpress/print/print_21538374.shtml
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilting_history/hmong.htm
http://www.civilization.ca/cultur/inde/indtch8e.html Resistance
Film: Threads of Hope arpilleras
Reading: Handouts, Hughes, II, pp. 205-254.
http://www.aasianst.org/absts/1997abst/china/c132.htm Chinese feminism
http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/iron.html Chinese advertising
WEEK 16: December 15
Final examination: Monday December 1 10:30-12:30
Resources: http://dmoz.org/Society/People/Women/History/Ancient/
http://www.stoa.org/dio-bin/diobib?jstor Bibliography of ancient women
WRITING PROMPTS
Remember: submit ALL papers on TURNITIN: Class ID: 8495994 Password: reaves2014
PAPER #1 based on a material artifact prior to 500 CE
DUE October 8
PROMPT: Find a sample of a textile, just one, and write a paper analyzing it as a piece of art
and then its significance to the history of gender and women. 5 pages
Start here: Be a Detective http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/techniques/textile.html
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/textile-analysis/
Are you ready to research?
Use this checklist as a starting point for your historical research project, and find out whether
you've overlooked an important step in your approach. This list can also be used to evaluate the
research systems and methods that you already use.
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Define the objective. A clear purpose gives structure to the investigation, and sets a
course for the research to follow.
Consider the end product. How you envision the final results will affect your decisions
about materials and methods.
Set limits. Use firm deadlines and budgets avoid overextending yourself.
Understand the context. Before you investigate a subject, learn what life was like in the
time and place where the history happened. Your main research will have more meaning.
Know where to look. Create a list of potential resources. Ask yourself who else would
have an interest in your research subject. Look on the Internet and in the local
phonebook.
Ask for resource suggestions. Add to the resources you've located on your own. Ask
librarians and local experts for their recommendations.
Get organized. Create a system for keeping your research material organized and
accessible. Expect to need more storage space as your investigation progresses.
Remember what you are doing. Use a logbook or diary to document every activity in
your investigation. Don't rely on a good memory.
Do it right. Put in the necessary effort. What comes out of your research project is a
direct result of what you put into it.
Consider the quality. The best and most reliable information always comes from
primary sources. Only turn to secondary sources when it's absolutely necessary.
Keep in touch. Create a complete list of every contact that you make during your
research. Include a note that will help your remember why you thought this person was
important.
A sample of a paper from the above website regarding the shroud of Turin:
Flury-Lemberg had originally been approached back in the early 1980s to try to date the Shroud by
analyzing the structure of the cloth. She refused, "because," she says, "it is impossible to get a serious
result dating a textile by textile analysis alone." In 1988, the keepers of the Shroud permitted radiocarbon
dating of the relic -- with unanticipated results. The tests indicated that the cloth had been made sometime
between 1260 and 1390 A.D., and thus was a medieval forgery rather than the actual burial shroud of
Christ. And yet, when Flury-Lemberg finally did agree to head the restoration and conservation of the
linen in the summer of 2002, the Shroud had a far different story to tell her. She first noticed that the
entire cloth was crafted with a weave known as a three-to-one herringbone pattern. "This kind of weave
was special in antiquity because it denoted an extraordinary quality," she says. (Less fine linens of the
first century would have had a one-to-one herringbone pattern). That same pattern is present on a 12th
century illustration that depicts Christ's funeral cloth, which, she says, is "extremely significant, because it
shows that the painter was familiar with Christ's Shroud and that he recognized the indubitably
exceptional nature of the weave of the cloth." Flury-Lemberg also discovered a peculiar stitching pattern
in the seam of one long side of the Shroud, where a three-inch wide strip of the same original fabric was
sewn onto a larger segment. The stitching pattern, which she says was the work of a professional, is
surprisingly similar to the hem of a cloth found in the tombs of the Jewish fortress of Masada. The
Masada cloth dates to between 40 B.C. and 73 A.D. The evidence, says Flury-Lemberg, is clear: "The
linen cloth of the Shroud of Turin does not display any weaving or sewing techniques which would speak
against its origin as a high quality product of the textile workers of the first century."
PAPER #2 Primary source based 500-1500 CE DUE November 9
PROMPT: Pick one topic and research it carefully, e.g. female merchants in Flanders, witch
trials in Germany, the role of nuns, etc. Pick the time period you like, find out if sources exist,
and then ask the question. You will need FIVE primary sources, plus secondary sources.
inimum 5 pages
How to write the essay: what should you ask? Remember it all depends on primary source
analysis! http://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/essay/essay.php
Start here: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/document-examination/
An excerpt from the website by Nancy Wingfield
These women are all exceptional, in part because there are records that tell us about their lives
and in part because they appear in world history textbooks. They all played important roles in
economic, diplomatic, and political history and had formal or informal access to power.
Traditionally, historical writing focused on elites and often rendered women invisible unless they were
queens or empresses. With the socio-political changes of the late 1960s, historical inquiry expanded to
include a focus on race, class, and gender. This literature has begun placing women’s varied experiences
worldwide in historical context.
Using gender to analyze the past has resulted in asking new questions about history and in reframing
traditional areas of historical inquiry—economic, diplomatic, and political history. When we begin
looking for women in history, they are there. And, they have long played important roles in all parts of
their societies. The most famous women of history were less unusual for what they did than for having it
recorded.
Records from a time period that allow us to reconstruct the history of a person, place, or event are referred
to as primary sources. Historians use many types of materials as primary sources for historical inquiry,
including images, texts written for public and private use, materials and visual objects, and even music.
All of these types of sources provide a window into the past, including the lives of women.
PAPER #3 Primary source material artifact post 1500 DUE December 14
PROMPT: Choose a piece of visual art from history that portrays women from somewhere in
the world. Then analyze what you learn from this depiction. Minimum 5 pages
Start here: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/technique/analyzing-art/
We will have a speaker give an example of this work and the site below gives a great example.
Here is an example: http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/98journal/ayeung/
Sample by Amica O. Yeung (below)
The 12th century Beijing handscroll Qingming Shanghe Tu (Spring Festival on the River) [Fig. 1, detail 1]
is generally believed to have been painted during the Northern Song dynasty (c.a. 9071127) by the
imperial court painter Zhang Zeduan. The Qingming scroll, highly celebrated ever since its creation, has
been admired for its realistic artistic style and historical detail, and has been the subject of numerous
studies throughout its long history. The emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties
(16441911) especially admired the scroll, and commissioned artists to copy its style and composition.
However, the exact origins of the Qingming scroll and the intentions of its creator have remained subjects
of debate. Soon after the creation of the Qingming scroll, the Northern Song dynasty was invaded and
overthrown by the Jin, a nomadic tribe. In the surviving historical record, the most nearly
contemporaneous account of the Qingming scroll and its presumed creator, Zhang Zeduan, was written in
1186 by Zhang Zhu, the imperial court curator of the conquering Jin (Johnson 147). Considering the
tumultuous end of the Song dynasty, and the scarcity of surviving records from that time, historians, art
critics, and connoisseurs have since argued about the identity of the Qingming scroll's creator, the date
and location of origin, the intended meaning of the work, and even whether or not the scroll is authentic.
Here is a lesson plan to help you formulate questions:
Interpreting art: http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/lesson9.html
1. What is happening in the image?
2. What civilization might it come from?
3. Approximately what time period was it made?
4. What snippet of information can be deduced about the role of women in the society
from which it comes?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Standards of Student Conduct Statements:
The following are excerpts from the CLU’s student handbook, which can be found on the following link:
http://www.callutheran.edu/student_life/student_handbook/
University Harassment Policy:
For information on the University’s student harassment policy and rights, please go to the following link:
http://www.callutheran.edu/student_employment/student_handbook.php.
Pearson Library:
Pearson Library provides access to scholarly books, journals, ebooks, and databases of full text articles
from scholarly journals. To begin using these materials, visit the library web page
http://www.callutheran.edu/iss/research/ . Librarians are available to assist you at the Thousand Oaks
campus or via Meebo chat on the Library’s home page or emailing CLULibrary@callutheran.edu. You
may contact the library at (805) 493-3250. For specific help in History ask for Lala Badal.
CLU Writing Center:
All enrolled CLU students are invited to make use of our services. For additional information, please visit
http://www.callutheran.edu/writing_center/ , call 805-493-3257, book online at GenBook, or stop by the
Writing Center (The Darling Collaboration Suite in the library) to schedule an appointment.
CARNEGIE HOURS RATIONALE IS DELINEATED BELOW:
Activity
4 unit course, 11
week semester
InstructorLed
W Course
ee
k
L
y
Readings of
required texts
Weekly Classes
4
Weekly
Course
3
45
2
2
15
30
2
30
Minimum, varies by student over
fifteen weeks
1
Average, varies by student
1
Average, varies by student
60
Preparing oral
presentation
Primary source
research
Writing three
papers
Midterm Exam
Preparation
Final Exam
Preparation
SUM
Independent
Remarks
Over fifteen weeks, uneven
distribution
Includes exams
Average, varies by student
60
Minimum, varies by student
122
What is a Carnegie Hour?
•
•
•
Strictly time-based reference for measuring educational attainment used by American
universities and colleges.
Credit hour in this context is defined as an academic hour or 50 min.
Credit unit equals one hour of instructor-led activities and two hours of independent
work per week over 15 weeks.
The Calculation: 1 unit = 1 instructor-led hour + 2 independent work hours per week based on
15 week semester so…
4 units= 4 instructor-led hours + 8 independent work hours per week on 15 week
semester = 60 instructor-led hours + 120 independent work hours per semester