Ms. Corbin Elizabeth SCHRADER Prof. Christine Min WOTIPKA Stanford University

1. HISTORY TRANSFORMED?Gender in the World War II Narrative in American Social Studies Textbooks, 1956-2007 Ms. Corbin Elizabeth SCHRADER Prof. Christine Min WOTIPKA Stanford University

2. The Puzzle • Fundamental shift in the rights of women around the world • International women’s movement • triumph of liberal feminism • Growing attention to unique rights of women, women in developing countries, etc. • Dramatic rise in access for females • Education • Labor market • Political participation C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

3. The Puzzle (cont’d) • Changes in textbooks over time, with increased emphases on • The individual student, the economy, the nation; inequality (Fiala 2007) • Human rights (Ramirez, Suarez, & Meyer 2007) • Once marginalized groups • Including mentions of women in textbooks (Ramirez, Bromley, & Russell 2009) C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

4. Research Questions • Does a positive shift in the status of girls and women translate into equal representation in educational curricula? • How are women presented in the WWII narrative? • How does the representation of women in this narrative change over time? C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

5. Importance of textbooks • The curricula and textbooks used within schools • represent the political and social climates of the time when they were written (Barnard 2001) • shape individual and collective identity, attitude, and action (Cornbleth & Waugh 1993), and • contributes to students’ gender ideologies and national identities (Durrani 2008). C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

6. World War II Narrative • War discourse continues to be fundamental to the historic understanding of politics in the Western world. • The presentation of women in the war narrative represents a rich discourse through which to explore the evolution and endurance of women’s social identities and political claims (Elshtain 1995). • Women (and other minority groups) were far less powerful during WWII, but since then, their roles in society have improved considerably. C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

7. Argument & Theoretical Perspectives On one hand, textbooks may be reflective of improvements in the status of women seen around the world, and thus be more inclusive in more recent time period • World society theory (Meyer et al. 1997) • Global models of progress and justice • Spread of international women’s movement C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

8. Argument & Theoretical Perspectives On the other, we expect that textbooks reflect liberal feminism, i.e., simply adding women into the extant WWII narrative • Textbook change is relatively slow • Formal state-sponsored educational systems are patriarchal by nature C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

9. Methods & Data • Textbook coding of • 13 lower-secondary American History textbooks • Published between 1956-2007 • Used in California’s (USA) public schools C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

10. Coding Scheme • Feminist theories of curricula/textbooks • Male (excludes women) • Compensatory (few notable women added) • Bi-focal (women are oppressed, different from men) • Feminist (women’s unique experiences; challenges status quo thinking) • Multi-focal, Relational (most inclusive of women, gender relationships, race, class; perspectives) Based on Tetreault’s (1986) five stages of thinking about women’s history C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

11. Findings: 1956-1969 Photos illustrate the absence and omission of women. During this period, women are only featured in this photo of Czech citizens. More commonplace of texts of this time period were photos of the war effort.

15. Findings: 1970-1980s • Women are characterized differently than previously • Less passive and more actively important to the military’s success. • Yet their history and contribution to WWII are held against male standards of patriotism • E.g., women in factories and in the military

19. Findings: 1990-2000s • Compensatory: adding women and brief bios (e.g., Eleanor Roosevelt) • Bi-focal: Two examples from 1994 • Women workers characterized as unique and different from male workers. The history of women’s transformation from homemakers to munitions workers is introduced as concept for consideration outside of their contribution to the war effort. • Women/Mothers protesting. This photo introduces women as political participants with influence. Women are no longer just contributing to the war effort, they are shaping the political sphere. C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

23. Discussion • Change over time from a male-centered history towards a compensatory and bi-focal history • Earlier publications leave women almost entirely out of the WWII narrative • No evidence of feminist or multi-focal, relational history C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

24. Discussion • Women viewed as supporting the role of men, rather than having their own unique experiences • In more recent books, women of color appear • But again, they are seen as women or as part of the history of men of color C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

25. Conclusion • Textbooks lag behind societal changes • All students stand to gain from more complete history • Textbooks can help change gender stereotypes • Educational experiences (such as with textbooks) need attention after so much attention on access for females C.M. WOTIPKA, Stanford University

26. HISTORY TRANSFORMED?Gender in the World War II Narrative in American Social Studies Textbooks, 1956-2007 Contact: Prof. Christine Min WOTIPKA cwotipka@stanford.edu