historical thinking

It’s Publication Day for Gendered Citizenship!

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It’s publication day for my book!

My book offers a new perspective on the gaps between men and women’s societal positions. I argue that the original conflict over the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) created the U.S’s gendered citizenship, which has prolonged women’s disadvantaged position.

Read my book to find out more! 

My book is available now in hardcover and paperback. You can order if from wherever you buy your books or ebooks. To learn more about my book, visit my author website.

If you order a copy from University of Nebraska Press use code 6AF21 for a 40% off discount.

Happy Publication Day to Gendered Citizenship!

My book is here!

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My author copies arrived over the weekend. My book will be published by the University of Nebraska Press on October 1st. But you can pre-order now from the press or amazon. My book is available in both hardcover and paperback. Check out my author website for more information www.rebeccadewolf.com.

Shattering the Authority of the Past and Present: Why you should give a damn about Michel Foucault

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These days we are constantly bombarded with the phrase: “Fake News! Fake News!” In the midst of it all, I cannot help but think of Michel Foucault. It seems others have thought of him too—but for strikingly different reasons. Some have pointed out that like the postmodernist school of thought, which Foucault was a part of, the concept of truth is malleable for President Trump. These commentators argue that Trump’s disregard for factual information and his inclination to question the sincerity of settled knowledge, follows the postmodernist assertion that truth is not discovered, but created.[1] Yet, as I see it, anyone who claims that Trump and Foucault seamlessly align on some kind of ideological plane have missed the point of Foucault’s philosophy entirely.

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Breaking the Silence: The Historiography of the Haitian Revolution

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“Why am I just now learning about the Haitian Revolution, especially in a modern European history course? Is it really that significant?” She was a young student. Although I cannot fully remember, I think she was a freshman. I stared back at her desperately trying to pretend that I was not frantically searching my brain for a clear answer. The problem was not a lack of answers; on the contrary, the problem was an overflow of ideas. It was my first semester working as a teaching assistant for a course on the history of modern Europe. At this stage, I still thought that as the instructor, I was supposed to know everything and anything at any given moment. In these early days, my discussion sections felt like twice-weekly pop quizzes.

Returning to the young student, I cleared my throat, broke my silence, and insecurely delivered what I prayed was a satisfactory answer. Gazing at her inquisitive eyes and feeling the other student’s predatory stares, I explained how the Haitian Revolution is significant to our understanding of the French Revolution.[1] I continued: “The Haitian Revolution reveals the inconsistencies within the French Revolution.” Gaining a little bit more confidence, I turned the question back to my class exclaiming, “The Haitian Revolution makes us ask, ‘was the French Revolution about liberty and equality, or was it about private property?” I finished: “It makes us question the nature of revolutionary movements.”

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The American Suffrage Movement: The Good, The Bad, and the Lessons that can be Learned Part II:

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Over the course of the nineteenth century, the suffrage movement grew from a small, fractious campaign into a powerful, unified movement. As my last post discusses, the suffrage movement flourished partly because suffragists increasingly appealed to traditional images of womanliness as well as the racial prejudices of the white middle class. By the early twentieth century, the movement had further expanded to become not only an influential part in women’s organized activities, but also a prominent force in the spectrum of American politics. As a result, the passage of a federal amendment that affirmed women’s right to vote seemed increasingly possible.[1] There are three main reasons for why suffrage-ism became such an overwhelming force: the rise of the progressive movement; the evolution of suffragists’ tactics; and the decline of the masculine political culture of the nineteenth century.

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