Women's History Project

A Women's History Project

Why is it important to know about women in history? To understand how men and women related, how they accessed power, how they were able to affect and change the society in which they lived? History is not an exact science: it is not, as many believe, a story to be told. It is, instead, an interpretation of the past that shifts and changes depending on the eyes that view it. How can we expect to understand our past if half of it is missing or has been ignored?

Women have done some pretty amazing things throughout history, but you wouldn't know it from reading most history books. Oh, we are familiar enough with figures like Cleopatra, Elizabeth I, Joan of Arc, Amelia Earhart. But is that enough? Are these women and a handful of others, the only women worth remembering of the millions who lived and died during 5000 years of recorded history?

For the past fifty years, historians have begun to wonder about the lives of ordinary men and women. And with this new interest in social history, the existence of women and their contributions could no longer be ignored.

By studying how women lived, what they did, thought and dreamed, we finally gain a realistic understanding of history and of how society functions and changes. Women's voices are finally being heard: a faint and barely audible whisper at first, louder and clearer and stronger in the most recent years: pieces of the mysterious puzzle that is our past.

The women you are about to meet may not be well known, their names not household names. By meeting them and researching their stories you will be on your way to a deeper understanding of your history and of yourselves.

Introduction
The editors of Women History Magazine have decided to award a Woman of the Year prize to one woman and a runner-up who have had a significant impact on their times and on world's history. The list of eligible women has been narrowed to the following list (roughly in chronological order).

Task
Your task, as a journalist for the magazine, is to write a short biography of each woman on the list, highlighting their achievements. In addition, you will be responsible for developing a high interest project that should capture your readers' imagination and drive up the magazine's circulation. Your editor-in-chief has given you three weeks to submit your work.

Process
Part 1. For each woman named in the list, write a short (1 or 2 paragraphs) biography. In addition to the short biography, you will have to create a question related to the life and accomplishments of each woman. This question should be designed to arouse the interest of the magazine's readers. (Do not forget to add the answer to your question. The editors will include them on the last page of the magazine to avoid irate phone calls from frustrated readers). To accomplish Part 1 of your assignment, you will be given at least two web site links that will provide you with the information you need for both biography and question. Feel free, however, to find other web sites on your own.

Part 2. Choose one of the following activities. When completing this part of your task, you must pay close attention to the historical context of each woman's life, the society they lived in, their position within that society, their contributions, struggles and how their contemporaries viewed them.

Choose two women you found particularly interesting. Research their lives and accomplishments in depth. Write an article about them. Include pictures whenever possible.
With another student, create a dialogue between two of the women you have met. Record it on paper or tape it.
With another student, stage a meeting between two of the women. Perform it for your class live, or videotape it.
Stage an interview on the theme Women of Power with two women from the list. Write an article in which you explain how and why your interviewees qualify for that title.
Create a diorama or a poster/display to illustrate the life and times of two women.
Write a journal entry two of the women might have written at a significant point in their lives.

List and Resources

1. Hatshepsut
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/k-q1.htm
http://www.bediz.com/hatshep/index.html
http://www.womenwholead.org/books.htm

2. Sammuramat (Semiramis)
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/rulers.html
http://www.undelete.org/woa/woa09-27.html#4

3. Zenobia
http://www.syrieonline.com/zenobia.htm
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/ucbio_zenobia.htm
http://www.ancientroute.com/people/Zenobia.htm

4. Boadicea (Boudicca)
http://members.tripod.com/~ancient_history/boad.htm
http://www.hhhh.org/maia/boudicca.html
http://cabinet.editthispage.com/stories/storyReader$725
http://www.womenwholead.org/books.htm

5. Trung Nhi and Trung Trac
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine10.html
http://herstory.freehomepage.com/pages/trung.html
http://www.womenwholead.org/books.htm

6. Aspasia
http://students.ou.edu/L/Lisa.A.Lewis-1/
http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/history/ancient/aspasia.htm
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/characters/aspasia_p1.html

7. Hypatia
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Hypatia.htm
http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/hypatia.htm

8. Anna Comnena
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine5.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01531a.htm

9. Mary Wollstonecraft
http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/woll.htm
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/wollstonecraft.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/Wwollstonecraft.htm

10. Hildegard von Bingen
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/hildegarde.html
http://www.bridgebuilding.com/narr/ghb.html
http://www.womenwholead.org/books.htm

11. Catherine de Medici
http://www.kings.edu/womens_history/cathymedici.html
http://vt.essortment.com/whocatherinede_rggi.htm
http://www.aristotle.net/~domiller/1st_high_heels.html

12. Amina
http://5x5media.com/bhp/pages/amina.shtml
http://www.swagga.com/queen.htm

13. Mbande Nzinga
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/rulers.html
http://womenwholead.org/nzinga.htm
http://swagga.com/queen.htm#nzingha

14. Catherine the Great
http://www.cityvision2000.com/history/catherine.htm
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_catherine.htm

15. Lady Godiva
http://www.who2.com/ladygodiva.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/godiva.html

16. Murasaki Shikibu
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine9.html
http://www.harvard-magazine.com/on-line/050220.html

17. Wu Zetian
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine6.html
http://www.gaylelynds.com/empress_wu_zetian.htm

Evaluation
You will be evaluated according to the following rubric. When working with a partner you will be graded according to the same criterion.