There is a long line, running from antiquity to the present day, which unites all those who believe in an open society. This school of thought bases the demand for liberty on the recognition of human ignorance; we need to be free because we are ignorant and fallible. Free social co-operation permits us to mobilize our knowledge and develop methods of discovery through which we can explore the unknown and continually correct our errors. To assent to free co-operation is to accept critical discussion, democracy and the market, and in this way we are able to increase our rationality and further...

This book presents a series of pioneering studies which together constitute a reappraisal of our understanding of the relationship between gender and history.

This book presents a wide-ranging and important collection of new work on gender history. It includes a variety of international contributions which provide the reader with a global perspective on how gender history has developed and where it is going.

The subjects covered include gendered space, colonial identites, biology and science, politics, citizenship and the public shere, work, family, and oral history. Ranging from Europe to Asia, Australia to North and South America, together the essays provide an essential guide to the recent and future direction of gender history.