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Searching for a Better Understanding of Mentally-Disordered Perpetrators of Violent Crime |
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Women's History Month is Reason to Celebrate |
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Two New Computer Labs in McCormack Hall: Students Networked for Success |
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Women's History Month in March follows right on the heels of Black History Month&emdash;fittingly so, since the American women's movement has derived inspiration and organizing strategies from the struggles of African Americans and their allies for freedom, full citizenship, cultural and social self-definition, and public visibility. And just as the black community comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and political complexions, so American women have always had multiple and complex identities. There are many contemporary issues on which women disagree, but at least one idea has proved irresistible&emdash;the importance of promoting public awareness of women's historical roles and contributions.
Scholars invented the field of women's history thirty years ago, energized by the women's movement. They began to ask why women were not more visible in the history books, and in public imagery of the American past such as monuments, memorials, and murals. What had the women been doing all these years, and why hadn't historians bothered to write about them, even when (as it later turned out) there was plenty of information to be found?
Recovering and interpreting women's past was an enterprise that necessitated asking new questions, exploring new or forgotten sources, and rethinking themes and topics from a female perspective. One notable example is Laurel Ulrich's Pulitzer-Prize-winning A Midwife's Tale (1990), based on the diary of an eighteenth-century Maine "housewife" and midwife, Martha Ballard. Ballard's diary, far from being the trivial record of one woman's daily life, actually "transforms the nature of the evidence upon which most of the history of the period has been written," according to Ulrich, by "restoring a lost substructure" invisible in the documents left by the male professionals and record-keepers.
But exciting work in the academy does not automatically translate into inspiration that will help girls and women imagine roles for themselves beyond the traditional limits. Hence Women's History Month and related activities&emdash;all dedicated to getting the word out, especially about the movers and shakers!
Women's History Month itself has a relatively short history. The idea of selecting a particular time for public celebration of women's historical influence on society and culture dates back at least to 1909, during the final push for women's suffrage, when the American Socialist Party began to sponsor a Woman's Day in late February. During the late 60s and early 70s, International Women's Day (March 8) was reclaimed as a time to reaffirm the egalitarian political vision of the women's liberation movement by grass-roots women's organizations such as the Dorchester Women's Committee. In 1981, Rep. Barbara Mikulski co-sponsored the first Congressional resolution designating a week in March as Women's History Week. In 1987, the National Women's History Project was instrumental in pushing Congress to dedicate the entire month of March to women's history.
Women's history projects and events can now be found not only in schools, colleges, libraries, and museums, but also in streets and parks, and even in cyberspace! Here on campus, the Sixth Annual Women's History Month and International Women's Day Celebration is a series of events co-sponsored by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy, the Women's Center, and the Women's Studies Program. Among this year's offerings are a lecture by Prof. Weili Ye on "The Myths and Realities of 'Sent-Down Girls': A Chinese Memoir"; a discussion of the impact of education on low-income women; and the Women's Research Forum. Watch for the Women's History Month event calendar or call 287-6785 for further details.
In the streets and parks of Boston, you can celebrate Women's History Month by taking a walk down the Boston Women's Heritage Trail, or visiting the newly enhanced Harriet Tubman Park on Columbus Avenue in the South End, or participating in the Boston Women's Memorial Gala Fundraiser, which will be hosted by Mayor and Mrs. Menino at the Fairmont Copley Plaza on March 9, and will honor American women as represented by Bostonians Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley, and Lucy Stone.
Cyberspace is full of vibrant Women's History sites. Check out the National Women's History Project(http://www.nwhp.org) where you will find a "Test Your Women's History I.Q." featuring questions about influential women who should be better known&emdash;including Mary Harris Jones, Dolores Huerta, Madam C. J. Walker, Queen Lililuokalani, and Sarah Winnemucca.One month is too short for all the learning now available. On to women's history all year round!