ESSAYS  Women’s Ways to Connect Across Cultural Borders Past and Present

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Women’s life experiences have offered unique opportunities for intercultural exchanges both historically and today. This section contains essays noting some of the ways women have connected with each other across cultural boundaries. The activities use primary source material for historical analysis and demonstrate ways students can connect around common interests in the classroom and beyond.

Essays:

Connecting Across Cultural Borders: Past and Present - Overview of themes, links to activities

Women As Cultural Emissaries - Primary Source Accounts

China’s “Diplomat Brides” - Background and Story of Wencheng

19th/Early 20th Century Travelers- Gertrude Bell, Mary Kingsley, Mary Seacole

Peace as an Early Woman’s Issue - Women Organizing and Bertha von Suttner

Women’s Suffrage: A World Wide Movement - Alliances, Arguments and Obstacles, Politics Beyond Suffrage

Activities:

Women and Veiling: Two Admiring Views- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Flora Tristan

“Women in Every Country”: First International Congress of Women’s Rights
   - Source Analysis, Role Playing, Research

“Women’s Ways of Peace” - Samples from History

Quotable Women for Peace - Primary Sources, Role Playing

Self Portrait by Theoung Mim - Art Analysis, Immigrant Identity Issues

“No Longer the Other” - “Child of the Americas” - Poem Analysis

Ethnic Mirrors by Eliane Cristina Testa- Art Analysis, Ethnic and Gender Diversity

“The Ideal American......” “Who is......?” - National Identity Awareness Discussion

The Solidarity Quilt - Background on Quilt, and Art and Craft Activity

Organizing for Intercultural Dialog - Web Research