This focus area employs a wide range of departmental historians whose specializations vary across geographical and chronological divisions. They include Drs. Margaret Caffrey, Beverly Bond, Joseph Hawes, Guiomar Dueñas-Vargas, Janann Sherman, Jonathan Judaken, Suzanne Onstine and Jim Blythe, all of whom have published in this area. A few examples illustrate the scope of their work: Dr. Jim Blythe’s work on medieval images of female warriors, Jonathan Judaken’s analysis of “The Queer Jew” in Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy, Dr. Caffrey’s biography of anthropologist Ruth Benedict, Dr. Onstine’s investigations of women in the ancient world, and Dr. Sherman’s biography of Senator Margaret Chase Smith. Dr. Dueñas-Vargas publishes extensively about women and family in Latin America; Dr. Beverly Bond’s work explores the dynamics of gender and race in the 19th century American South. The department is in the process of hiring a new professor specializing in Gender, Family and Childhood history to replace retired senior professor Dr. Joseph Hawes.

The department offers a diverse range of courses in women, gender and family history, including Black and White Women in American History, African Women’s History, Medieval and Renaissance Women, The History of Gender in America, Gender and Slavery, Women in a Global World, Women and Politics, History of the American Family, and Body Issues in American Women’s History. Many of these courses are also made available through the interdisciplinary Women’s and Gender Studies Program.