In this revised version of a ground-breaking global history of women and the First World War, Susan Grayzel shows the multiple ways in which women faced the enormous challenges the war presented, both the losses as well as the opportunities that the war provided.
The First World War was a total war requiring the mobilisation of millions of both civilians and combatants. It decisively shaped the modern world. A century after the signing of the last peace treaty to end this conflict, its experiences and legacies for women continue to inspire debate and interest. With new evidence from the tremendous outpouring of scholarship on women in all participant states, including those in occupied territories, Europe and its overseas empires, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the United States over the last twenty years, this edition greatly expands the coverage of the war geographically while continuing to showcase diverse women’s voices. Topical in its approach, it allows for a thorough exploration of the intersectional experiences of women. Including new documents highlighting the ways in which women wrote their wars and that detail the impact of this conflict on women of different statuses and geographies, this book opens the door to further inquiry on the women of the First World War.
With documents providing first-hand accounts, a chronology and a glossary, the book is an ideal text for students studying the First World War or the history of women.
Part 1: FRAMEWORKS 1. INTRODUCTION Part 2: EXPERIENCES OF WAR 2. THE WAR BEGINS: PROPAGANDA, RECRUITMENT AND STATE SUPPORT OF FAMILIES 3. WOMEN’S WAR WORK: REMUNERATIVE, VOLUNTARY AND FAMILIAL 4. WOMEN IN THE LINE OF FIRE 5. MORALE, MORALITY AND SEXUALITY 6. ANTI-WAR PROTEST, DISSENT AND REVOLUTION Part 3: LEGACIES OF WAR 7. ASSESSING SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE WAR FOR WOMEN 8. CONCLUSION Part 4: DOCUMENTS
Biography
Susan R. Grayzel is Professor of History at Utah State University, USA. She is the author of Women’s Identities at War: Gender, Motherhood, and Politics in Britain and France during the First World War and co-editor of Gender and the Great War.
'an innovative addition to the series...This book will prove invaluable for those seeking a comparitative analysis of the women's question in the early twentieth century.'
Richard Brown, The Historical Association website'the broad range of topics, collection of documents, and bibliography make this a very useful starting point for undergraduate students.'
Deborah D. Buffton, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, H-Women, H-Net Reviews
