Women, Families and Communities, Volume 1 - Softcover

Approaching women's history through case studies, this reader explores the connections between the private, personal experiences of American women, and the larger political, economic, intellectual, and social factors that shaped their lives. Suitable as a main text for women's history courses, or as the perfect supplement to any U.S. history survey course, the articles in each volume address a broad spectrum of families and communities, including various racial, ethnic and class groups in different regions of the country.

Women, Families and Communities, Volume 1, Second Edition
Nancy Hewitt and Kirsten Delegard

Employing a case study approach, this women's history reader explores the connections between the private and personal experiences of American women and the political, economic, intellectual, and social factors that helped shape their lives. The second edition of this popular reader has been thoroughly and completely revised to meet the needs of modern classrooms. It may be used as the main text in courses on women’s history, as well as a supplementary text for any U.S. history survey course.

Volume One covers material from the New World to the Civil War and Reconstruction and explores the following themes: the conquest of land and peoples and the impact on women and families; the effects of war on the daily lives of women and communities; the dynamic relations between family, labor and the market economy; women’s activism and political change; sexual violence and women’s agency; and the interplay of race, class and gender in the lives of women and their families and communities.

Second Edition Features:

• A new introduction before each section places the articles within a chronological framework while the head-note for each article identifies the context and theme of the selection.
• Questions following each article promote critical thinking and help students relate the topic of the reading to the major issues of the historical period.
• Suggested Readings at the close of each part serve as a rich resource for instructors and students interested in further study.

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