Susan Ware – författare

Feminist biography burst on the scene in the 1970s dedicated to discovering and reclaiming female characters whose lives had been ignored or overlooked. Recovering women's lives wasn't enough. Feminist biographers pioneered an interpretive and narrative strategy that focused on gender as a primary influence on women's lives alongside a commitment to exploring those lives through the powerful lens of modern feminism. Until there are no significant differences between men's and women's experiences, telling women's lives will call for a different kind of biography. Feminist biography offers that fresh perspective to the larger biographical enterprise. In this work, acclaimed women's historian Susan Ware lays out the themes and contributions of feminist biography interwoven with profiles of exemplary twentieth-century figures, including Alice Paul, Pauli Murray, and Carolyn Heilbrun. Ware finds feminist biography in unusual places, such as an opera libretto, a family history, and an oral history collaboration, and shows how the approach illuminates the lives of LGBTQ+ subjects and women who do not identify as feminists. Throughout she weaves her own journey as a feminist biographer into the stories she tells Offering models for living in the present and inspiration for a more equitable future, Speaking Louder Than I Can is a masterful example of feminist biography's central insights â that women's lives matter and that gender is essential for understanding them â and argues forcefully for its continued relevance.

What does U.S. history look like with women at the center of the story? From Pocahantas to military women serving in the Iraq war, this survey chronicles the contributions, recognized and unrecognized, that women have made to the American experience. Committed to a multicultural approach to women's history, the narrative opens not with the European settlers who came to America but with the Native American peoples who were already there. Women who seized opportunities for political and cultural influence during and after the American Revolution were mainly white women. Women's domestic and waged labor shaped the Northern economy, and slavery affected the lives of Southern women, both free and enslaved. Women took the lead in 19th century movements such as temperance, moral reform, and abolitionism, as well as women's rights. The demand for the vote first enunciated at Seneca Falls in 1848 culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. New patterns of work, leisure, and education shaped modern women's lives after 1920, as did international events such as the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. Women played especially large roles in the civil rights movement and the revival of feminism, as well as in the backlash these movements provoked.Moving beyond the well-documented lives of white middle-class women, this survey recognizes the diversity of American women's experiences defined by race, ethnicity, and class, but also geography, sexual orientation, age, and religion. At the core of the narrative is the recognition that gender--the changing historical and cultural constructions of roles assigned to the biological differences of the sexes--is central to understanding the history of American women's lives, and the history of the United States.

In 1607, Powhatan teenager Pocahontas first encountered English settlers when John Smith was brought to her village as a captive. In 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote. And in 2012, the U.S. Marine Corps lifted its ban on women in active combat, allowing female marines to join the sisterhood of American women who stand at the center of this country''s history. Between each of these signal points runs the multi-layered experience of American women, from pre-colonization to the present. In American Women''s History: A Very Short Introduction Susan Ware emphasizes the richly diverse experiences of American women as they were shaped by factors such as race, class, religion, geographical location, age, and sexual orientation. The book begins with a comprehensive look at early America, with gender at the center, making it clear that women''s experiences were not always the same as men''s, and looking at the colonizers as well as the colonized, along with issues of settlement, slavery, and regional variations. She shows how women''s domestic and waged labor shaped the Northern economy, and how slavery affected the lives of both free and enslaved Southern women. Ware then moves through the tumultuous decades of industrialization and urbanization, describing the 19th century movements led by women (temperance, moral reform, and abolitionism), She links women''s experiences to the familiar events of the Civil War, the Progressive Era, and World War I, culminating in 20th century female activism for civil rights and successive waves of feminism. Ware explores the major transformations in women''s history, with attention to a wide range of themes from political activism to popular culture, the work force and the family. From Anne Bradstreet to Ida B. Wells to Eleanor Roosevelt, this Very Short Introduction recognizes women as a force in American history and, more importantly, tells women''s history as American history. At the core of Ware''s narrative is the recognition that gender - the changing historical and cultural constructions of roles assigned to the biological differences of the sexes - is central to understanding the history of American women''s lives, and to the history of the United States. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

In 1607, Powhatan teenager Pocahontas first encountered English settlers when John Smith was brought to her village as a captive. In 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote. And in 2012, the U.S. Marine Corps lifted its ban on women in active combat, allowing female marines to join the sisterhood of American women who stand at the center of this country''s history. Between each of these signal points runs the multi-layered experience of American women, from pre-colonization to the present. In American Women''s History: A Very Short Introduction Susan Ware emphasizes the richly diverse experiences of American women as they were shaped by factors such as race, class, religion, geographical location, age, and sexual orientation. The book begins with a comprehensive look at early America, with gender at the center, making it clear that women''s experiences were not always the same as men''s, and looking at the colonizers as well as the colonized, along with issues of settlement, slavery, and regional variations. She shows how women''s domestic and waged labor shaped the Northern economy, and how slavery affected the lives of both free and enslaved Southern women. Ware then moves through the tumultuous decades of industrialization and urbanization, describing the 19th century movements led by women (temperance, moral reform, and abolitionism), She links women''s experiences to the familiar events of the Civil War, the Progressive Era, and World War I, culminating in 20th century female activism for civil rights and successive waves of feminism. Ware explores the major transformations in women''s history, with attention to a wide range of themes from political activism to popular culture, the work force and the family. From Anne Bradstreet to Ida B. Wells to Eleanor Roosevelt, this Very Short Introduction recognizes women as a force in American history and, more importantly, tells women''s history as American history. At the core of Ware''s narrative is the recognition that gender - the changing historical and cultural constructions of roles assigned to the biological differences of the sexes - is central to understanding the history of American women''s lives, and to the history of the United States. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A fascinating exploration of the private and public worlds of Molly Dewson, America’s original female political boss. In the first biography ever written of Dewson, Susan Ware not only examines her political career as a trusted member of the Roosevelt team throughout the New Deal but also considers how Dewson’s fifty-two year partnership with Polly Porter and her woman-centered existence strengthened her success as a politician.“Susan Ware’s excellent biography of Molly Dewson restores one of Franklin Roosevelt’s chums and an irrepressible battler for women in politics to her proper place in the history of the New Deal.”—Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.“Rich, readable, and intriguing biography.”—Estelle B. Freedman, Women’s Review of Books“Readers should welcome Ware’s spotlight on Dewson, which widens to disclose wonderfully human views of FDR and Eleanor and brings to life many virtually forgotten feminists of an era that threatens to fade into gray.”—Publishers Weekly“Provides a lively and refreshingly concrete sense of everyday activities in reform and political circles. … A wonderful account of the model of a modern political woman.”—Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Times Literary SupplementSusan Ware is assistant professor of history at New York University, where she also coordinates the Women’s History Program.

Still Missing is a fascinating biography of one of the most intriguing women of modern history. In it, Susan Ware recovers the parts of Earhart's life that have been obscured by the emphasis on her disappearance. Setting her in her place and times, Ware speaks of the woman who set aviation records, who endlessly promoted the ability of women to enter any and all professions, who served as a dynamic role model because of her charm and spirit. Ware's portrait of Earhart is of a woman we all need to rediscover.

In wanting to think through modern women's history, Susan Ware found herself drawn to seven larger-than-life women who influenced not only their professions—politics, journalism, anthropology, acting, sports, dance, and music—but also the way women saw themselves and their options in life. Ware recovers the people behind the legends of Eleanor Roosevelt, Dorothy Thompson, Margaret Mead, Katharine Hepburn, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Martha Graham, and Marian Anderson in compelling life stories. She looks at how they created their persona, how they kept themselves in the public eye, and how they did so for so long. She also speaks to how these women balanced their personal lives—choosing lovers and mates and deciding whether to have children. In the choices they made and the success of those choices are lessons relevant to contemporary working women. As part of living exceptional and unconventional lives, they gave other women the ability to desire beyond the limits imposed on women and allowed them to dream and strive for lives of independence and fulfillment.

The New Deal administration of Franklin Roosevelt brought an unprecedented number of women to Washington to serve in positions of power and influence. Beyond Suffrage is a study of women who achieved positions of national leadership in the 1930s. Susan Ware discusses the network they established, their attitudes toward feminism and social reform, and the impact they had upon the New Deal's social welfare policies and on Democratic party politics.

“Lively and delightful…zooms in on the faces in the crowd to help us understand both the depth and the diversity of the women’s suffrage movement. Some women went to jail. Others climbed mountains. Visual artists, dancers, and journalists all played a part…Far from perfect, they used their own abilities, defects, and opportunities to build a movement that still resonates today.”—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, author of Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History“An intimate account of the unheralded activism that won women the right to vote, and an opportunity to celebrate a truly diverse cohort of first-wave feminist changemakers.”—Ms.“Demonstrates the steady advance of women’s suffrage while also complicating the standard portrait of it.”—New YorkerThe story of how American women won the right to vote is usually told through the lives of a few iconic leaders. But movements for social change are rarely so tidy or top-heavy. Why They Marched profiles nineteen women—some famous, many unknown—who worked tirelessly out of the spotlight protesting, petitioning, and insisting on their right to full citizenship.Ware shows how women who never thought they would participate in politics took actions that were risky, sometimes quirky, and often joyous to fight for a cause that mobilized three generations of activists.The dramatic experiences of these pioneering feminists—including an African American journalist, a mountain-climbing physician, a southern novelist, a polygamous Mormon wife, and two sisters on opposite sides of the suffrage divide—resonate powerfully today, as a new generation of women demands to be heard.

The pages of the past are full of characters who remind us that history depends upon the great deeds of men and women, whether famous or humble. Where would America be without George Washington, or Daniel Boone, or Sojourner Truth, or Babe Ruth? Where would we be without so many characters who are less well remembered today? Historians and biographers regularly come across stories of little-known or forgotten heroes, and this book provides a chance to rescue some of the best of them. In Forgotten Heroes, thirty-five of the country''s leading historians recount their favorite stories of underappreciated Americans. From Stephen Jay Gould on deaf baseball player Dummy Hoy; to William Leuchtenburg on the truth behind the legendary Johnny Appleseed; to Christine Stansell on Margaret Anderson, who published James Joyce''s Ulysses; these portraits can be read equally for delight, instruction, and inspiration Taken together, however, the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. Every culture needs heroes who lead by example and uplift us all in the process. Too often lately, historians have been more intent on picking apart the reputations of previously revered Americans. At times it has seemed as if the academy were on the attack against much of its own culture, denying its past greatness while making heroes only of its dissidents and doubters. Yet as this collection vividly demonstrates, heroes come in many shapes and sizes, and we all gain when we remember and celebrate them. Forgotten Heroes includes nearly as many women as men, and nearly as many people from before 1900 as after. It expands the traditional definition of hero to encompass not only military figures and politicians who took risks for great causes, but also educators, religious leaders, reformers, labor leaders, publishers, athletes, and even a man who started a record company. Many of them were heroes of conscience -- men and women who insisted on doing the right thing, no matter how unpopular or risky, commanding respect even from those who disagreed. Some were famous in their day and have since been forgotten, or remembered only in caricature. Others were little-known even when alive -- yet they all deserve to be remembered today, especially at the gifted hands of the authors of this book.

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tennis''s "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that King''s challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women''s sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in women''s sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. King''s place in tennis history is secure, and now, with Game, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why women''s sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.

One of the most beloved radio show hosts of the 1940s and 1950s, Mary Margaret McBride (1899—1976) regularly attracted between six and eight million listeners to her daily one o'clock broadcast. During her twenty years on the air she interviewed tens of thousands of people, from President Harry Truman and Frank Lloyd Wright to Rachel Carson and Zora Neale Hurston. This is her story.Five decades after their broadcast, her shows remain remarkably fresh and interesting. And yet McBride—the Oprah Winfrey of her day—has been practically forgotten, both in radio history and in the history of twentieth-century popular culture, primarily because she was a woman and because she was on daytime radio.Susan Ware explains how Mary Margaret McBride was one of the first to exploit the cultural and political importance of talk radio, pioneering the magazine-style format that many talk shows still use. This radio biography recreates the world of daytime radio from the 1930s through the 1950s, confirming the enormous significance of radio to everyday life, especially for women.In the first in-depth treatment of McBride, Ware starts with a description of how widely McBride was revered in the mid-1940s—the fifteenth anniversary party for her show in 1949 filled Yankee Stadium. Once the readers have gotten to know Mary Margaret (as everyone called her), Ware backtracks to tell the story of McBride's upbringing, her early career, and how she got her start in radio. The latter part of the book picks up McBride's story after World War II and through her death in 1976. An epilogue discusses the contemporary talk show phenomenon with a look back to Mary Margaret McBride's early influence on the format.

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tennis''s "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that King''s challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women''s sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in women''s sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. King''s place in tennis history is secure, and now, with Game, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why women''s sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tennis's ""Battle of the Sexes"" in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that King's challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women's sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in women's sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. King's place in tennis history is secure, and now, with Game, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why women's sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.

In their own voices, the full story of the women and men who struggled to make American democracy wholeWith a record number of female candidates in the 2020 election and women''s rights an increasingly urgent topic in the news, it''s crucial that we understand the history that got us where we are now. For the first time, here is the full, definitive story of the movement for voting rights for American women, of every race, told through the voices of the women and men who lived it. Here are the most recognizable figures in the campaign for women''s suffrage, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but also the black, Chinese, and American Indian women and men who were not only essential to the movement but expanded its directions and aims. Here, too, are the anti-suffragists who worried about where the country would head if the right to vote were universal. Expertly curated and introduced by scholar Susan Ware, each piece is also introduced by a headnote so that together these 100 selections by over 80 writers tell the full history of the movement--from Abigail Adams to the Declaration of Sentiments to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment and the limiting of suffrage under Jim Crow. Importantly, it carries the story to 1965, and the passage of the Voting and Civil Rights Acts, which finally secured suffrage for all American women. Includes writings by Ida B. Wells, Mabel Lee, Margaret Fuller, Sojourner Truth, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Frederick Douglass, presidents Grover Cleveland on the anti-suffrage side and Woodrow Wilson urging passage of the Nineteenth Amendment as a wartime measure, Jane Addams, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, among many others.

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tennis''s "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that King''s challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a women''s sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in women''s sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. King''s place in tennis history is secure, and now, with Game, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why women''s sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.

When Billie Jean King trounced Bobby Riggs in tenniss Battle of the Sexes in 1973, she placed sports squarely at the center of a national debate about gender equity. In this winning combination of biography and history, Susan Ware argues that Kings challenge to sexism, the supportive climate of second-wave feminism, and the legislative clout of Title IX sparked a womens sports revolution in the 1970s that fundamentally reshaped American society.While King did not single-handedly cause the revolution in womens sports, she quickly became one of its most enduring symbols, as did Title IX, a federal law that was initially passed in 1972 to attack sex discrimination in educational institutions but had its greatest impact by opening opportunities for women in sports. Kings place in tennis history is secure, and now, with Game, Set, Match, she can take her rightful place as a key player in the history of feminism as well. By linking the stories of King and Title IX, Ware explains why womens sports took off in the 1970s and demonstrates how giving women a sporting chance has permanently changed American life on and off the playing field.