What did the Enlightenment Lead to: Women’s Activism, Women’s Movement or Feminism? A Case-Study of France and the Usa

• Authors: Elisabeta Zelinka
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The Enlightenment triggered different reactions among women in Europe (the most illustrious case is France) and in the USA. The present paper analyses these reactions kindled by the Enlightenment in the two abovementioned geopolitical and cultural realms. It also analyses the development of certain social movements triggered by these reactions. Therefore, the epicentral question that I will attempt to answer is: what did the Enlightenment lead to in Europe (as exemplified by France) and in the USA: women’s activism, women’s movement, or feminism? Why did the Enlightenment influence the women’s rights movement differently in these two countries?

Keywords

EN

dames francoises; dames sans culottes; “maternal societies”; the Quakers; the “Women’s March on Versailles”.

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Gender Studies
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 11
• Issue: Supplement
• Pages: 188-198

Dates

published

2012-12-01

online

2012-12-28

Contributors

author

Elisabeta Zelinka

• West University of Timișoara 4, Pârvan Blvd, Timișoara, Romania

References

• Bock, Gisela. Women in European History. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Press, 2002. van Drenth, Annemieke and Francisca de Haan. The Rise of Caring Power: Elizabeth Fry andJosephine Butler. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 1999.
• de Gouges, Olympe. Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen. Web. 3 May 2012 <http://www.pinn.net/~sunshine/book-sum/gouges.html>
• Sklar, Kathryn Kish. Women’s Rights Emerges within the Anti-Slavery Movement, 1830-1870: aBrief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2000.
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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10320-012-0017-6