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Rethinking Canada: The Promise of Women's History
Rethinking The Promise of Women's History is a collection of essays that introduces readers to the rich, diverse, and intellectually lively field of Canadian women's history. First published in 1986 and now entering its successful sixth edition, Rethinking Canada includes articles
spanning from the 1600s to present day that reflect a revised understanding of Canadian women's history along racial, religious, national, and ethnic lines. Of the 24 essays, 18 are new, emphasizing increased coverage of indigenous, immigrant, and racialized experiences; work and labour; sexuality
and the body; religion and spirituality; politics; and shifts in regional analysis. The scope of topics remains from women and war in early indigenous society to women and the fur trade in New France, from war-time nurses in World War I to lesbian bar culture in the 1950s and 1960s and
modern-day transnational motherhood, this wide-ranging reader acts as a core text for courses in Canadian women's history.
Each essay is introduced by the editors, who place it in its wider historical and scholarly context. For the first time, Rethinking Canada now includes primary source documents such as photos, newspaper clippings, and historical excerpts to accompany each article. These pieces allow readers to
engage in historical interpretation and provide visual snapshots into the past. Recent scholarship and fresh editorial commentaries combine to create an invaluable introduction not only to Canadian women's history, but also to the study of Canadian history itself.
spanning from the 1600s to present day that reflect a revised understanding of Canadian women's history along racial, religious, national, and ethnic lines. Of the 24 essays, 18 are new, emphasizing increased coverage of indigenous, immigrant, and racialized experiences; work and labour; sexuality
and the body; religion and spirituality; politics; and shifts in regional analysis. The scope of topics remains from women and war in early indigenous society to women and the fur trade in New France, from war-time nurses in World War I to lesbian bar culture in the 1950s and 1960s and
modern-day transnational motherhood, this wide-ranging reader acts as a core text for courses in Canadian women's history.
Each essay is introduced by the editors, who place it in its wider historical and scholarly context. For the first time, Rethinking Canada now includes primary source documents such as photos, newspaper clippings, and historical excerpts to accompany each article. These pieces allow readers to
engage in historical interpretation and provide visual snapshots into the past. Recent scholarship and fresh editorial commentaries combine to create an invaluable introduction not only to Canadian women's history, but also to the study of Canadian history itself.
440 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 9, 2016
This books is good start into gender history in Canada. It contains many pieces about intersectionality.
My favourite piece was Gender, Sovereignty, and the Discourse of Rights in Women's Activism by Joanne Barker. An amazing piece of writing that is full of information.
My favourite piece was Gender, Sovereignty, and the Discourse of Rights in Women's Activism by Joanne Barker. An amazing piece of writing that is full of information.
March 26, 2018
This was one of the textbooks we read for a cross-listed history/gender studies class I took. The essays were really varied in subject matter, but overall quite interesting and well written and enlightening. Good place to start your inquiry into Canada and it's history of sex, sexuality and gender from pre-confederation to 2016.
August 10, 2012
3.5
I sighed after reading the last sentence of this book. Sighed in relief. This book is really informative but so dense and time consuming that I feel like I should get a little merit badge for reading it from cover to cover.
Although encompassing a wide array of feminist topics this text does focus on the lives/stories of women who are more in the marginalized groups, such as Aboriginal women and immigrant women, to name a very small few. While the editors claim that the entries are very comprehensive of Canadian women’s lives and whatnot I feel like it was overly Eastern focused. I get the nation started there but the country has expanded a great deal. I also think a few of the entries would have benefited from some editing, a lot of superfluous information and repetition made reading more tedious than it needed to be.
Overall this was an instructive read and had some very poignant points to make. As a starting point I think Rethinking Canada provides an ideal, if somewhat outdated (by which I mean the more contemporary entries), foundation.
I sighed after reading the last sentence of this book. Sighed in relief. This book is really informative but so dense and time consuming that I feel like I should get a little merit badge for reading it from cover to cover.
Although encompassing a wide array of feminist topics this text does focus on the lives/stories of women who are more in the marginalized groups, such as Aboriginal women and immigrant women, to name a very small few. While the editors claim that the entries are very comprehensive of Canadian women’s lives and whatnot I feel like it was overly Eastern focused. I get the nation started there but the country has expanded a great deal. I also think a few of the entries would have benefited from some editing, a lot of superfluous information and repetition made reading more tedious than it needed to be.
Overall this was an instructive read and had some very poignant points to make. As a starting point I think Rethinking Canada provides an ideal, if somewhat outdated (by which I mean the more contemporary entries), foundation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews