History matters : patriarchy and the challenge of feminism /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Bennett, Judith M.
Imprint:Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2006.
Description:214 p. ; 23 cm.
Language:English
Subject:Women -- History.
Women -- Historiography.
Feminism -- Historiography.
Feminist theory.
Patriarchy.
Feminism -- Historiography.
Feminist theory.
Patriarchy.
Women.
Women -- Historiography.
History.
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/6116704
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:0812239466 (cloth : alk. paper)
9780812239461
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (p. [157]-206) and index.
Review by Choice Review

Bennett (Univ. of Southern California) provides a historiography of recent women's history writing along with historical evidence to produce a tract and primer for a revived feminist history. She begins her provocative book by lamenting both the muting of feminist voices within the historical profession, and the erosion of historical vision within feminism. The author then grapples with interpretive dilemmas faced by historians of women: how to use "the distant past" in their work, how to come to terms with both continuity and change in historical developments, and how to reinsert consideration of patriarchy into interpretive frameworks. The idea of "patriarchal equilibrium," developed eloquently in one chapter, details the specific forms, degrees, and structures of patriarchy while also explaining its general geographic and chronological persistence. Historical evidence that illustrates Bennett's arguments includes English women's work experience since 1300 and the study of women described as "lesbian-like" from the Middle Ages to more modern times. The final chapter argues for the importance of inserting women's history into textbooks, and admits the challenges of transforming accepted historical "master narratives." This book should be required reading for anyone who believes that studying history "for its own sake alone" misses the inherent revolutionary potential of the enterprise. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. M. J. Slaughter University of New Mexico

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review