Bonnie G. Smith Begins Book Announcing: This Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 924 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1

Page 1 of 3

Bonnie G. Smith begins book announcing: "This book inserts term 'gender' account historiography West

In many ways, one can read Bonnie G. Smith's book The Gender of History, as merely stating the obvious. That she does so in an abu7ndance of detail and varying perspectives while stratifying some of the fundamental concepts that make up historiography makes her conclusion none the less obvious. One can simply deconstruct the term history and see that there are inherent gender implications -- professional and scholastic history is, for the most part, the account of some man or men (typically Caucasian) rendering an 'official' accounting of events past. As such, that accounting is going to be written from the perspective of this universal male symbol of authority and address those things that he wants addressed, while favoring those things he believes posterity will need to regard as important. The author's assertion (1998), then that "the development of modern scientific methodology, epistemology, professional practice and writing has been closely tied to evolving definitions of masculinity and femininity" (p. 1) is exceedingly accurate (and only omits the question of race, which is equally as prevalent and important). In fact, the author's statement serves somewhat as a guide through the various tenets and eras of historiography that her manuscript covers.

One of the most basic principles of Smith's work is that during the time period in which modern historical writing began -- which dates from the latter portion of the 18th century -- history was written by both male and female authors.

Stuck Writing Your "Bonnie G. Smith Begins Book Announcing: This" Essay?

View All Our Example Bonnie G. Smith Begins Book Announcing: This Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Not surprisingly, the works of the latter were professional and deemed as more valuable and authoritative than those of the latter, which were frequently trivialized as amateur. This fact is of immense importance especially in terms of providing the validity of Smith's thesis (that historiography has been stratified to favor the perspective of men), because it suggests that the historical writings that have populated contemporary academia did not have to be written solely by men.

More importantly, however, the author propounds the notion that in the 19th century, history was effectively dichotomized between the two genders. There were facets of history which were generally considered feminine (and therefore less important) than other facets of history which were considered masculine. This dichotomy came from some of the writers which were comprised of women and who wrote history which was not professional or academic in nature. Oftentimes, such historical accountings were largely about social and cultural issues, and offered a plethora of detail about the intricacies of a particular setting or clothing that an important personage (many of whom were women) wore. Therefore, the history that was written by men was somewhat reactionary to the writing of women's history in that….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bonnie G Smith Begins Book Announcing This" (2013, November 12) Retrieved June 4, 2026, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bonnie-g-smith-begins-book-announcing-126959

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bonnie G Smith Begins Book Announcing This" 12 November 2013. Web.4 June. 2026. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bonnie-g-smith-begins-book-announcing-126959>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Bonnie G Smith Begins Book Announcing This", 12 November 2013, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/bonnie-g-smith-begins-book-announcing-126959
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example