Reclaiming the Past: Landmarks of Women's History

"As editor Page Putnam Miller explains, "Historic structures can be a catalyst for studying and remembering the past." Reclaiming the Past integrates recent developments in women's history and historic preservation in order to illuminate the historic significance of many structures and sites associated with the lives of women in the United States. The homes of Willa Cather, Sarah Orne Jewett, Zora Neale Hurston, Clara Barton, and Susan B. Anthony; Dumbarton Oaks, designed by landscape architect Beatrix Farrand; the Madame C. J. Walker Building in Indianapolis, home of the Walker Manufacturing Company; Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, New York, site of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention; the Shirtwaist Triangle Factory; Hull House: these represent only a sampling of the variety of landmarks and resources examined here." "In an introductory chapter, Page Putnam Miller outlines the urgent task of identifying and preserving these historic sites. The contributors then focus on seven arenas of activity: architecture, arts, community, education, politics, religion, and work. We discover that as activists, preservationists, designers, and architects, women have long been involved in historic preservation, as well as in the thoughtful design of domestic space - the home itself. As artists and writers, women often interpreted their household and immediate surroundings. Women have also left their mark on material culture through community activism, religious and educational activity, and work." "Less than 5 percent of national parks, national historic landmarks, and state historic sites commemorate women's life and activity in the United States. The use of historic structures to reconstruct and understand their accomplishments has garnered relatively little attention. This volume is an effort to stimulate the recovery and use of these resources - to grasp the spirit and the passions that animate women's history." "The contributors are Gail Lee Dubrow, Joan Hoff, Barbara J. Howe, Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Barbara Melosh, Jean R. Soderlund, and Lynn Y. Weiner."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved… (more)