My first year teaching AP world history I created a lesson called, “Where the women at?” Highlighting this point. They were there the whole time but from 1200-1600 there’s like 4 women mentioned in the course materials. They start to pop up more later but the point was we were taught not to take note of the lack of women and just accept it as normal.
Female figures everywhere, actual women harder to find. That is it!
I write about somatic healing and healing justice lineages, and the same erasure runs through that history. The women who built the actual foundations of what we now call trauma therapy, Judith Herman, Pat Ogden, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, are known inside the field, in training weekends, in supervision. The public face of the same work is almost entirely men. Not because the women weren’t there. Because commemoration has always had a politics.
Trouillot is exactly right that silences are produced, not accidental. Someone decided what counted as historical at every stage. The body that built something and the name attached to it in public memory are two different archives, and we keep treating the second one as if it’s neutral.
The highlight‑reel vs history distinction is doing so much work here. Once you see commemoration as a construction project, the ‘history just got political’ crowd look almost funny. Almost 🙃
I enjoyed this so much. I teach Greek archaeology and we talk a lot about how history is a highlight reel, as you say. I’m thinking about ways to restructure the class so that women and other hidden players can be unhidden. Your piece gives me ideas. Thanks!
Thanks for this important refresher about how history has been/is constructed (in our country largely by white, Christian, well to do men). As you pointed out so eloquently, women were largely removed from the history of important events/actions/movements as have so many other marginalized people. Even men have not been given credit where credit is due if they are people of color or non Christian or non elite, for example. The screaming need for womens’ history to be to life is a spectacular endeavor for the Smithsonian. Kudos to them!
My first year teaching AP world history I created a lesson called, “Where the women at?” Highlighting this point. They were there the whole time but from 1200-1600 there’s like 4 women mentioned in the course materials. They start to pop up more later but the point was we were taught not to take note of the lack of women and just accept it as normal.
Female figures everywhere, actual women harder to find. That is it!
I write about somatic healing and healing justice lineages, and the same erasure runs through that history. The women who built the actual foundations of what we now call trauma therapy, Judith Herman, Pat Ogden, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, are known inside the field, in training weekends, in supervision. The public face of the same work is almost entirely men. Not because the women weren’t there. Because commemoration has always had a politics.
Trouillot is exactly right that silences are produced, not accidental. Someone decided what counted as historical at every stage. The body that built something and the name attached to it in public memory are two different archives, and we keep treating the second one as if it’s neutral.
The highlight‑reel vs history distinction is doing so much work here. Once you see commemoration as a construction project, the ‘history just got political’ crowd look almost funny. Almost 🙃
I enjoyed this so much. I teach Greek archaeology and we talk a lot about how history is a highlight reel, as you say. I’m thinking about ways to restructure the class so that women and other hidden players can be unhidden. Your piece gives me ideas. Thanks!
Thanks for this important refresher about how history has been/is constructed (in our country largely by white, Christian, well to do men). As you pointed out so eloquently, women were largely removed from the history of important events/actions/movements as have so many other marginalized people. Even men have not been given credit where credit is due if they are people of color or non Christian or non elite, for example. The screaming need for womens’ history to be to life is a spectacular endeavor for the Smithsonian. Kudos to them!
In all cultures. The women were deleted. They created so many things that have created our culture and humanity and every other layer.
In a patriarchal society that is not allowed. I love that women archeologists are now turning everything on its head and seeing things differently.
History is written by the victors. This rising is no "accident". Rebalancing is occurring.
Thanks for opening the historical record! The Smithsonian project sounds amazing. Women have always been heroines. We can’t forget it!
As you said, historians are actively rewriting history and that's a normal part of their job.
It's just daunting when some of them are on the wrong side of history with this reconstruction work, as we say.