The Power of Historical Lenses: A Look into History Through Women’s Eyes An Educator’s Workshop

Abstract

History has always been tinted with a masculine point of view. The main players of History have been determined to be men in positions of power and change, typically these players are the ones that are remembered. The major events of the world have only included the identities of men due to the belief that they are the most promising of perspectives; however, historians are now understanding that women played more of a role in events than previously thought. The women in the French Revolution broke the stalemate by marching to Versailles, women were on the battlefield defying expectations and spying for the enemy in the American Civil War and in World War II the best sniper was a woman, resistance leaders were women and some of the most terrifying people in the concentration camps were women. Even though this is the new understanding in the field, educators are still teaching from the perspective of men which is limiting their student’s understanding of history. Without the inclusion of women’s roles and perspectives in the events, a complete analysis will never be able to be completed by students. This obstruction in education severely restricts the students’ ability to learn the historical event in a broader method. The aims of this workshop are to encourage educators and historians alike to include different perspectives within their interpretations because without them, history is not being respected.