Throughout history, men have typically held more power than women in societies around the world. This system is called patriarchy. In recent years, historians have become very interested in studying patriarchy and how it has affected people’s lives. Some key questions historians are trying to answer include:
· How did patriarchy start and change over time?
· What were women’s experiences like under patriarchy?
· What opportunities and limitations did women have?
· How did different cultures define gender roles for men and women?
· Were some women able to resist unfair treatment or take on non-traditional roles?
Studying these questions can be challenging because we don’t have many historical documents written by women, especially from long ago. Most of the writings we do have from women are from upper-class ladies. This means historians often have to carefully examine documents written by men and try to figure out women’s perspectives from those.
Choose one of the following civilizations we have looked at this semester. Ancient Egypt, Greece, Aztec, Ming, or Ottoman.
For your Chosen Civilization consider the following.
How did women push back against unfair treatment in these ancient societies? Can you spot any early signs of feminist ideas or actions that remind you of modern women’s rights movements?
Did women in these old societies sometimes agree with or accept the male-dominated system? Why do you think they might have done this?
If you could time travel and live as a woman in your civilization choice, do you think you would be happy? Is it fair to judge these old societies by our modern standards? What are the pros and cons of looking at history this way?