A Return to Domesticity? Over the last few years, I've taken up baking as a hobby and as a historian this brought me to questions of why and how home baking has historically been gendered female. As research often does, especially when starting with a broad topic, my look into questions of the history of…
In the field of public history, the interpretation of women’s history has become a hot topic with increasing attention and emphasis being placed on including women's perspectives in museum exhibits and other public history initiatives. This post is a literature review and essay on how women's history has historically been presented via museums and historic…
The long road to freedom and the abolition of slavery was paved by many people working towards that goal, including men and women, black and white, Northerners & Southerners. Many African American abolitionists were former slaves, who had either gained freedom through "official" means (were emancipated by those who enslaved them) or had escaped slavery.…
Lucy Burns (L) and Ida B. Wells (R). Images are in the public domain. I did a lot of brainstorming and soul searching trying to decide which woman from the past, who is often overlooked, I should devote my attention to. Because of the anniversary of women's suffrage I thought of Lucy Burns, the suffragist…
Last holiday season controversy erupted over a radio station's decision to ban "Baby, It's Cold Outside." And this year, John Legend & Kelly Clarkson's new version has stirred up opinions on the song once again. What is the controversy all about? And what's the context for the original song's lyrics? Read more below about the…
Recently, I toured Dumbarton Oaks, which is a research library and collection in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The collection and estate was donated to Harvard University by Robert and Mildred Bliss, collectors of art and artifacts from around the world. The Blisses were particularly fascinated with Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art, as well as…
Women have always worked. But the nature of that work and where it took place has changed over time. In the United States, before the late 19th century, the majority of women's work was domestic, but as economic and social changes took place, women began working outside of the home and in more varied roles.…
The US National Archives' #19forthe19th Instagram Challenge is highlighting women's history for 19 weeks in celebration of the centennial of the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote. This week's theme? #PlayLikeAGirl I decided to take a look at pioneering female musicians who play instruments specifically female drummers, who continue to remain a…
Fittingly, the US National Archives Instagram Challenge in honor of the centennial of the 19th Amendment has assigned the theme of Women Abolitionists to fall on June 19th, Juneteenth, the day that remaining enslaved people were emancipated in the state of Texas in 1865 after the end of the Civil War. The celebration of freedom…
On the hunt for a convenient, quick, and close-by lunch spot between our visits to the National Air & Space Museum and the National Museum of African American History & Culture, we wandered into the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on our way to the Pavilion Cafe. With bad weather looming, we made our…
Beth Nevarez Historical Consulting 