The Feminine Public Sphere: Middle-Class Women and Civic Life in Scotland, c.1870-1914

ISBN-13: 9780719079665 / Angielski / Twarda / 2009 / 192 str.

Megan Smitley

Opis

At a time when women were barred from clerical roles, middle-class women made use of the informal power structures of Victorian and Edwardian associationalism in order to actively participate as citizens. This investigation of women's part in civic life provides a fresh approach to the "public sphere," illuminates women as agents of a middle-class identity and develops the notion of a "feminine public sphere," or the web of associations, institutions and discourses used by disenfranchised middle-class women to express their citizenship. The extent of middle-class women's contribution to civic life is examined through their involvement in reforming and philanthropic associations as well as local government. Making use of a range of previously untapped sources, this fascinating book will appeal in particular to those with an interest in Gender History and Scottish History.