Revolutionary Women
OER PROJECT: WH 1200 / LESSON 4.3 ACTIVITY REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN 1Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Revolutionary Women,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/PurposeIn the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, all kinds of women became active in the fight for change. Engage in an in-depth study of one revolutionary woman and how her impact is still felt and seen in women’s lives around the world today.Process 1.Read the following passage, and then answer the question that follows:The eighteenth century marked a significant turning point for much of the world. It was an era of tremendous change, as people developed new ways to examine human nature using science, and at times called for radical political revolutions. It was the period in which intellectuals discussed creating a social contract between the people and their government. These new republican governments required the consent of the people because, in the words of Thomas Jefferson, “all men are created equal.” You might ask, “What about women?” Abigail Adams brought up the question in a letter to her husband, an author of the US Constitution, requesting, “in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.” The mere fact that women were active in fighting for change is one of the most revolutionary elements of that century and those that followed. Some of these fighters were intellectual women of the European Enlightenment. But the revolutionary spirit had a much wider reach, and included women from varying socioeconomic and geographical backgrounds.•What do you think it means to “Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors”?
OER PROJECT: WH 1200 / LESSON 4.3 ACTIVITY REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN 22.Now you’re going to learn more about a revolutionary woman. You’ll choose or be assigned one of the women below to research. Circle the woman you’ll be learning more about. Micaela Bastidas (Peruvian, 1744–1781)Gertrudis Bocanegra (Mexican, 1765–1817)Juana Azurduy de Padilla (Bolivian, 1780–1862)Gabriela Silang (Filipina, 1731–1763)Rafaela de Herrera y Torreynosa (Nicaraguan, 1742–1805)Mary Seacole (Jamaican-British, 1805–1881)Mary Wollstonecraft (English, 1759–1797)Olympe de Gouges (French, 1748–1793)Anne Lister (English, 1791–1840)Catherine the Great (Russian, 1729–1796)Margaret Cochran Corbin (American, 1751–1800)Abigail Adams (American, 1744–1818 Isabella Baumfree (Sojourner Truth)(American, 1797–1883)Cheng I Sao (Chinese, 1775–1844)Rani Velu Nachiyar (Indian, 1730–1796)Mana Sitti Habib Jamaladdin (Somali, c. 1810–1919)Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana (Zimbabwean, 1840–1898)Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh (Dahomey Amazonian, c. 1835–c. 1889)Nakayama Miki (Japanese, 1798–1887)Begum Hazrat Mahal (Indian, 1820–1879)3.Your teacher might have you read the section of “Women Around the World” that corresponds to the geographic area your assigned revolutionary woman is from. 4.Next, find out more about the woman you’re studying by conducting your own research. You should complete linked Research Cards as you go and answer the questions on the following page.
OER PROJECT: WH 1200 / LESSON 4.3 ACTIVITY REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN 35.Does this person go by other names? If so, write them below.6.What have you learned about their childhood and background like?7.What made them ordinary?8.What made them extraordinary?
OER PROJECT: WH 1200 / LESSON 4.3 ACTIVITY REVOLUTIONARY WOMEN 49.Next, you’re going to create a visual one-pager, similar to a graphic biography, summarizing what you’ve learned and proving why the woman you researched is so revolutionary. You can use one of the following templates, or you can create your own. You should include images, either drawn or from the internet.Your one-pager should contain the following: •A title: Create a catchy title that isn’t just the woman’s name. •Subtitle: Your subtitle should include the woman’s name, dates of birth and death, and location.•Why this woman is considered revolutionary: What change did she help enact?•Revolution evaluation: How did the change go? Was it positive, negative, or somewhere in-between?•Historical context: Why did this change happen at this time? What were the contexts and conditions that helped spur this change?•Impact: How many people did this change impact? (That is, study the reach of the impact and display it somehow.)•Relevance to today: Why is this person still important today? Where do we see their revolution at work?