Women's History

Leila Ahmed traces how gender, law, and religious authority changed across Islamic history, then shows how colonial rule turned the veil and the ‘woman question’ into political symbols.

From early computing and programming languages to network directories and online communities, Claire L. Evans reconstructs women’s history as programmers, infrastructure maintainers, and creators of internet culture.

Qiuyuan is the debut work of Chinese amateur author Yang Benfen, written at the age of 80. Centered on the life of the author's mother Liang Qiufang (nicknamed Qiuyuan), it tells the story of an ordinary Chinese woman who lived through war, famine, and political upheaval throughout the 20th century. This is a moving work about women, memory, and history, as well as a heartfelt retrieval of the countless Chinese women lost to history.

A sweeping historical novel set on the Korean island of Jeju, following the intersecting fates of two female divers over several decades. From the Japanese colonial era through the Korean War and into the present, the story depicts the resilient lives, solidarity, and ultimate forgiveness of women caught in the tides of history.

A memoir by legendary feminist activist Gloria Steinem, chronicling her decades of travel and the conversations she held with the people she met along the way. It beautifully illustrates how moving, listening, and organizing can transform the world and shape the self.

The final autobiography written by the legendary poet Maya Angelou. Addressing her early abandonment by her mother, years of estrangement, and a dramatic eventual reconciliation, this work beautifully maps how one woman learned to be independent, to forgive, and to blossom into a world-renowned writer through the complexities of maternal love.

Christienna Fryar’s Oxford lecture compares Ann Pratt and Mary Seacole, returning to Mary Prince and historians’ archival responsibilities.

An Ohio State teaching video introduces Heian court literature through Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shōnagon. It is an accessible orientation, best paired with close reading on language, class, and historical difference.