Re: I have a question... -- Medieval History Fall 2002

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 10:07:27 09/06/02 Fri
Author: John Wineland
Subject: Re: I have a question...
In reply to: Matthew Cason 's message, "Re: I have a question..." on 11:26:53 09/05/02 Thu

>I've always found it interesting, the ratio between
>boys and girls who study history. I think we at Lee
>may have a little more of the latter than a lot of
>other universities precisely because we have, in
>general, more females than male students. I think it
>stands now at 3 girls for every 1 guy, though when I
>started at Lee in '98, it was closer to 4-5, so things
>have evened out somewhat. Nonetheless, I think there
>is still a disparity, in History and Political Science
>areas, with a vastly larger male than female
>population.

I AM UNIMFORMED AS TO THE RATIO OF STUDENTS AT LEE, BUT OVERALL IN THE RECENT PAST MEN HAVE OUTNUMBERED WOMEN IN THE STUDY OF HISTORY OF ANY PERIOD. AS I SAID ELSEWHERE I THINK THIS TREND IS CHANGING

>I think a lot of it may have to do, at
>least where Medieval history is concerned, with the
>popular idea that it was such a barbarous and
>'uncivilised' age. Feminists like to point the finger
>and say that it was all due to male aggression, which
>went unchecked as women were fettered to what they
>perceive as the rampant chauvanism of the Middle Ages.
> I think that is a gross exaggeration, frankly. Yes,
>I wouldn't go so far as to say that there was anything
>even vaguely resembling equality, but there were
>certainly plenty of feminine role models, and more
>than a few stand out in my mind.

I AM NOT SURE THE ARGUMENT HOLDS, MANY WOMEN ARE ATTRACTED TO THE STUDY OF HISTORY BECAUSE IT DOES ALLOW THEM TO POINT THESE THINGS OUT

>Some examples
>include:
>
>Eleanor d'Aquitaine: Wife of a king of France and then
>a king of England, wealthiest landholder, male OR
>female, in Western Europe, and one of the most pivotal
>figures of the 12th Century. In marrying Henry II,
>she all but engineered the state of affairs that would
>lead up to the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War, and
>she certainly played a pivotal role in her husband's
>policies, both foreign and domestic. There is a
>marvelous movie, 'The Lion in Winter', wherein
>Katherine Hepburn really illustrates, in my mind, the
>powerful personality and indomitable nature of Eleanor.
>
>Catherine of Siena: A Late Medieval mystic, whom
>popes, kings, princes, and most anyone who WAS anyone
>sought out for advice and counsel. Educated and able
>to read and write, several of her letters remain, and
>there is one particularly humorous account where she
>actually scolds the Pope! Perhaps the only individual
>in Christendom who could get away with it, she was
>considered one of the wisest people of the age.
>
>What other examples can you guys (no pun intended!)
>think of, insofar as stand-out Medieval women are
>concerned?

HOW ABOUT HELOISE

MORE LATER

John Wineland

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Re: I have a question... -- Daniel Hoffman, 18:29:24 09/07/02 Sat