History Matters: Patriarchy and the Challenge of Feminism

by Judith M. Bennett

Written for everyone interested in women's and gender history, History Matters reaffirms the importance to feminist theory and activism of long-term historical perspectives. Judith M. Bennett, who has been commenting on developments in women's and gender history since the 1980s, argues that the achievement of a more feminist future relies on a rich, plausible, and well-informed knowledge of the past, and she asks her readers to consider what sorts of feminist history can best advance the struggles of the twenty-first century.

Bennett takes as her central problem the growing chasm between feminism and history. Closely allied in the 1970s, each has now moved away from the other. Seeking to narrow this gap, Bennett proposes that feminist historians turn their attention to the intellectual challenges posed by the persistence of patriarchy. She posits a "patriarchal equilibrium" whereby, despite many changes in women's experiences over past centuries, women's status vis-à-vis that of men has remained remarkably unchanged. Although, for example, women today find employment in occupations unimaginable to medieval women, medieval and modern women have both encountered the same wage gap, earning on average only three-fourths of the wages earned by men. Bennett argues that the theoretical challenge posed by this patriarchal equilibrium will be best met by long-term historical perspectives that reach back well before the modern era. In chapters focused on women's work and lesbian sexuality, Bennett demonstrates the contemporary relevance of the distant past to feminist theory and politics. She concludes with a chapter that adds a new twist—the challenges of textbooks and classrooms—to viewing women's history from a distance and with feminist intent.

A new manifesto, History Matters engages forthrightly with the challenges faced by feminist historians today. It argues for the radical potential of a history that is focused on feminist issues, aware of the distant past, attentive to continuities over time, and alert to the workings of patriarchal power.

Genres: History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Medieval, Research, Theory, Gender Studies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Judith MacKenzie Bennett is an American historian, Emerita Professor of History and John R. Hubbard Chair in British History at the University of Southern California. Bennett writes and teaches about medieval Europe, specifically focusing on gender, women's history, and rural peasants.

Reviews

[Netanella]

One of the podcasts that I listen to on the regular, "Tides of History," recommended this book as the author was being interviewed for another book she wrote, on female brewers working on either side of the Black Death, Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World. I'm glad I picked this up, as it's a very readable collection of essays by a noted female medievalist on the necessity of historians of the distant past and scholars of modern feminism to work together in their research. It's interesting and nerdy and makes me want to go back to grad school.

[Monica]

Some fairly interesting essays on the topic of feminism in relation to history - however, this book is a general overview of the background of women's history/gender history rather than an in-depth study. It serves as a good introduction though!

[scriptedknight]

rating: 3.5/5 stars
~
fascinating take as my professors in college were primarily in studies pre-1800, which she was arguing was rarely taught anymore, but i can see her argument with the inclusion of women.

[Juan Pablo]

It's a very short book & I guess it can be viewed as an introduction to the importance of understanding what it means to understand history much farther back than 200 years ago & what that means for trying to understand & present the history of women in various societies throughout the ages. Bennett explains what this means for scholarship, theory & ,to a small extent, activism. She makes it clear that this history is complex & not simply or solely filled with active intentions or attempts to oppress women. Women's roles fluctuated with the structures of society, social mores of a given time & social hierarchies. She also makes it clear that sometimes experiences can change without their being an overall transformation of women's place in a society & that has significant implications for how history is interpreted & the status of women is traced.

Probably a book more geared towards those in or experience with academia but it's still worth a read to keep in mind one's own personal interpretation & understanding when learning on their own.

[Ashley]

A comprehensive text on the methods and purpose for recovering women's histories and learning from the past.

[Yveva]

Great historiography of feminist histories and excellent footnotes with plenty of sources of future reading. Highly readable.

Blog posts with discussion (including one from Bennett): http://girlscholar.blogspot.com/2009/...

Bennett argues that the study of history is vital to feminist movement, and that by studying the distant past we can be better able to examine modern questions about the role of women.

[Arica]

I read this as an undergrad, but admittedly usually skimmed the pages before class and did not fully appreciate the amazing nuance and complexity Bennett makes in clear and eloquent arguments of the importance of history to the feminist movement and the importance of feminism in history. She has become one of my greatest academic role models as a medieval, feminist historian.

[Allison Thurman]

MC library

[Shona]

This is a really clear and eloquent argument about the importance of history to the feminist movement, and the importance of feminism to history.

[bookcasewalls]

An interesting, nuanced book and hugely pleasurable to read. Stimulated lots of thoughts about 'doing' feminist history, and provided references to lots of other reading.

[Camila Borges]

Eu AMEI o livro, ler sobre feminismo escrito por uma historiadora foi uma experiência muito enriquecedora, eu arrisco dizer que ler o segundo sexo e depois ler esse, é perfeito