Date of Award
5-2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Legacy Department
History
Committee Chair/Advisor
Grubb, Alan
Committee Member
Barczewski , Stephanie
Committee Member
Meng , Michael
Abstract
JŸrgen Habermas's bourgeois public sphere theory led many historians to adopt new categories of social divisions. More specifically, gender historians utilized the theory in order to explain the exclusion of women from the political realm. Imparting male and female classifications onto the public and private spheres, in turn, led to the claim of complete social immobility for women. In the 1990s and 2000s, however, gender historians began to question the rigidity of the gendered spheres. This study adopts this line of argument by looking at the lives of Madame de Sta‘l, George Sand, and Lucie Aubrac. These women present three different instances of female participation in the political realm.
Recommended Citation
Neil, Mallory, "To Live, To Love, To Labor: Challenging the Rigidity of the Public and Private Spheres" (2012). All Theses. 1349.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1349