Feminism in the Enlightenment

Write 3 pages of this essay

Given that another primary season is underway, a serious contender for the U.S. presidency has invited you to join her campaign as an undergraduate special advisor. She wants your insights on what the global history of the past 250 years can teach a responsible and effective world leader today. helping her define her general policy platform in one of these three following areas: 1) how to achieve greater social fairness (think race, gender, class, etc.), 2) how to achieve greater economic equality (think property, capital, labor, development, etc.), and 3) how to achieve greater individual autonomy and sense of personal freedom (think consumerism, education, nationalism, mass culture, etc.).

She is not interested in hearing your personal political leanings or partisan values, nor is she asking you to consider what is politically expedient to get her elected (her other million-dollar consultants can do that!).Instead, she wants you to speak from a historical perspective based strictly. She wants you to focus on only one of these three general areas, by discussing specific historical examples and ideas from your readings and lectures to back up your overall perspective (your thesis).

Please use those topic: and do not use the sources

Olympe de Gouge

“Declaration of the Rights of Women”

Rights gained, rights denied

Mary Wollstonecraft

Vindication of the Rights of Women

Dilemma of the “despotic ladies”

Intellectual independence

Emilie du Châtelet

Newton’s Principia Mathematica

“Renaissance woman”

Relationship with Voltaire

Château at Cirey

“Discourse on Happiness”

Feminism in the Enlightenment

For most of Western history the portrayal and status of women were limiting and oppressive. For several years, women, in theory, enjoyed not very many political, legal or economic rights and they were required to submit to their husbands or fathers. Women were limited to traditional gender responsibilities that constrained them to stay in the private or domestic societal circle. The roles of women as mothers, wives, daughters were viewed as their most noteworthy role in the community. For the privileged individuals in the community, the reproductive abilities of women were a significant responsibility in sustaining the family line and shaping inheritances.