Gender Analysis in Historical Context

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Questions and Answers

Who is the author of the work from which this excerpt is taken?

American Historical Association

Fowler

Oxford University Press

Joan W. Scott (correct)

In which publication did this excerpt originally appear?

Oxford English Dictionary

JSTOR

Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage

The American Historical Review (correct)

What year was Volume 91, No. 5 of The American Historical Review, which contains this excerpt, published?

1985

1986 (correct)

1990

1991

According to the provided excerpt, Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage was published in which year?

1940 (A) Signup and view all the answers

Fowler's Dictionary primarily defines 'gender' within which domain?

Grammar (A) Signup and view all the answers

In Fowler's view as presented, using 'gender' to refer to male or female sex is considered to be what, depending on context?

Either a permissible joke or a mistake (A) Signup and view all the answers

The title of the article, 'Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis', suggests that the author will likely argue for the value of gender in what field?

Historical Studies (B) Signup and view all the answers

According to the excerpt, JSTOR's role is primarily to do what for scholarly content?

Facilitate access, preservation, and discovery (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary critique of theories that explain gender solely through physical differences?

They assume an unchanging and inherent meaning of the human body, neglecting the social and cultural construction of gender. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What self-imposed constraint has potentially hindered the development of new analytical perspectives within Marxist feminism?

The requirement that explanations for gender must be rooted in material conditions. (A) Signup and view all the answers

In Marxist feminist analysis, as described in the text, where are the origins and changes in gender systems primarily located?

Outside the sexual division of labor, in broader transformations of modes of production. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the ultimate relationship between patriarchy and capitalism in Heidi Hartmann's analysis?

Economic causality takes precedence, with patriarchy developing and changing as a function of relations of production. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is a primary weakness of some historical theories?

They tend to present overly simplistic generalizations, undermining the complexity of social causation. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What are the two main categories of approaches to 'gender' used by historians, as outlined in the text?

Descriptive and Causal (C) Signup and view all the answers

What do Engels's and Hartmann's explorations of gender systems, as mentioned in the text, ultimately suggest about the driving force behind changes in family, household, and sexuality?

Transformations in modes of production and economic relations. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic defines the 'descriptive' approach to 'gender' in historical analysis, according to the text?

Referring to phenomena or realities without interpreting, explaining, or attributing causality. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of the 'causal' approach to 'gender' in historical analysis, as described in the text?

To theorize about the nature of gendered phenomena and understand their causes. (D) Signup and view all the answers

In its simplest recent usage, as described in the text, what is 'gender' often used as a synonym for?

Women (C) Signup and view all the answers

Why might some scholars substitute 'gender' for 'women' in the titles of their works?

To enhance the perceived scholarly seriousness and neutrality of their work. (A) Signup and view all the answers

How does the term 'gender,' when used as a substitute for 'women,' differ politically from 'women's history,' according to the text?

'Gender' seems to pose less of a critical threat to conventional historical narratives than 'women's history'. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What implication does the usage of 'gender' as a substitute for 'women' carry regarding the relationship between men and women, as described in the text?

It proposes that information about women is intrinsically linked to information about men. (C) Signup and view all the answers

The text argues for understanding social phenomena by focusing on:

Examining interconnected processes rather than single origins. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Investigating 'how things happened' is crucial for:

Uncovering the underlying reasons 'why' things happened. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Michelle Rosaldo's perspective, as presented in the text, suggests that a woman's position in society is primarily determined by:

The social meaning attached to her activities through interactions. (A) Signup and view all the answers

To comprehend how gender operates and social change occurs, it is essential to consider:

Both individual subjects and social organization, and their interrelationships. (D) Signup and view all the answers

The text contrasts the notion of unified social power with Foucault's idea of power as:

Dispersed constellations of unequal relationships within social fields. (C) Signup and view all the answers

Human agency, as described in the text, involves the attempt to construct identity and society within:

Existing limits and conceptual language that allows for both boundaries and resistance. (C) Signup and view all the answers

According to the text's definition, gender is fundamentally:

Both a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived sex differences and a way of signifying power. (A) Signup and view all the answers

The relationship between changes in social relationships and representations of power is described as:

Corresponding, but not necessarily in a single direction of causality. (A) Signup and view all the answers

According to the provided text, what is a crucial characteristic of the four elements constituting the definition of gender?

They are interdependent, with none functioning without the others. (B) Signup and view all the answers

The author suggests that a key area for historical research regarding gender is understanding:

the relationships and dynamics among the four aspects of gender. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary purpose of the author's sketch of the process of constructing gender relationships?

To illustrate a framework for analyzing various social processes, including gender, class, and race. (A) Signup and view all the answers

Gender functions as 'a primary way of signifying relationships of power' or, more precisely, as:

a primary field within which or by means of which power is articulated. (D) Signup and view all the answers

While gender is considered a primary field for articulating power, the text indicates that it is:

not the exclusive field, but a persistent and recurrent one, especially in Western traditions. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Concepts of power, as discussed in relation to gender, are described as:

building upon gender but not invariably being directly about gender itself. (D) Signup and view all the answers

The text mentions studies by Sinha and Ratte focusing on gender identity construction in the context of:

British colonial administrators in India and British-educated Indian nationalist leaders. (D) Signup and view all the answers

The author critiques the typical thinking about gender in social and institutional relationships as often being:

not done precisely or systematically, thus necessitating clarification. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which historical event is presented as an example where emergent rulers linked masculinity with dominance and femininity with weakness?

The French Revolution during Jacobin hegemony (C) Signup and view all the answers

According to the content, what is a common characteristic observed in authoritarian regimes concerning women?

Implementation of policies to control women as a means of consolidating power (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary interpretation given in the text for the timing of actions taken against women by emergent authoritarian rulers?

Strategically coinciding with periods of power consolidation and assertion of authority (A) Signup and view all the answers

In the context of emergent rulers and control over women, what is presented as the underlying purpose of policies targeting women?

To symbolize and enact the establishment of dominance and centralized power (D) Signup and view all the answers

How does the content describe the conceptualization of 'sexual difference' in the examples provided of authoritarian regimes?

As a framework for establishing systems of domination and control, particularly over women (D) Signup and view all the answers

What does the text imply about the relationship between legal changes affecting marital relationships and broader societal views?

Legal changes can redefine and reshape societal understandings of relationships. (D) Signup and view all the answers

According to the content, which contemporary group shares a similarity with historical authoritarian regimes in their approach to family and gender roles?

Conservative political ideologues seeking to legislate family structure and behavior (A) Signup and view all the answers

What overarching theme connects the examples of historical and contemporary actions concerning women discussed in the content?

The utilization of policies related to women as a tool for establishing and solidifying broader power structures (D) Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis

Gender is a grammatical term only, referring to the male or female sex. Historically, the meaning of words, like the concept of gender, evolves.
Feminist historians use "gender" to describe the social organization of the relationship between sexes, rejecting biological determinism.
The term "gender" is relational, meaning men and women are defined in terms of each other, and cannot be studied in isolation.
"Gender" has been used to describe the historical analysis of women and men, focusing on the significance of sexes and gender roles in different societies and periods.
Historians consider gender as a category of analysis in feminist scholarship, broadening the study of women's history to consider relational aspects.
Gender is a social construction, not a biological one. This means that societies create ideas about what it means to be a man or woman.
Understanding the significance of gender requires an examination of its historical context, specifically within different societies and time periods.
Historical analyses of gender must move beyond a fixed, unchanging binary opposition of male and female, recognizing the complexity and variability of gender across time.
The meaning of gender is contextual and contingent. It varies across cultures and time periods.

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Description

Explore the concept of gender as a significant category in historical analysis. This quiz discusses how feminist historians view gender as a social construct, emphasizing relational dynamics between the sexes across various societies and time periods. Test your knowledge on the evolution of gender concepts and their implications in historical scholarship.