"I do not think the war would have been won without the women.... Now women have to liberate themselves." The fighter Maudy Muzenda's reflection on the role of women in Zimbabwe's liberation war speaks to a broader pattern in global history. Women have been central to the radical transformation of societies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas from the early modern era to the present. In this course we will examine revolutionary women who took up arms and others who protested for improved working conditions, voting rights, sexual liberty, and human rights. Our cases will include the history of political revolutions in France, Cuba, Russia, and China, as well as in Zimbabwe. We will also explore the critical role of women in the global Industrial Revolution, the Suffrage Movement, the rise of international feminisms, and the everyday struggles of women in multiple sexual revolutions. |