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Harvard University

Women Making History: Ten Objects, Many Stories

Harvard University via edX

Overview

As we approach the centennial of the passage of women’s suffrage in 1920, there has been a recent burst of activism among American women. Women are running for political office in record numbers. Women are organizing and taking to the streets to demand change. Women are grappling with inclusion and intersectionality.

While some of this activity may have been a response to the 2016 presidential elections, its roots lie deep in 20th-century history — a history richly preservedin Harvard’s Schlesinger Library building on the library’s 75th Anniversary Exhibit.

This course exemplifies the importance of archives in themaking of history. Professors Laurel Ulrich and Jane Kamensky, along with colleagues from across Harvard University and beyond, show how women in the 20th-century United States pushed boundaries, fought for new rights, and challenged contemporary notions of what women could and should do.

Through the exploration of ten iconic objects from the Schlesinger collection, they demonstrate how women created change by embracing education, adopting new technologies, and creating innovative works of art; pushing against discrimination and stepping into new roles in public and in private.

Taught by

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Jane Kamensky

Reviews

5.0 rating, based on 1 Class Central review

5 rating at edX based on 5 ratings

Start your review of Women Making History: Ten Objects, Many Stories

  • Laly Noya Rakotoniaina
    Every professor from this course will keep you inspired. You will feel how amazing you are in your personal and professional life. In addition, you will learn to sustain the rich history of what womanhood or being a feminist entails. After, completing this course as a female you will want to continue making huge impacts in our society.

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