Throughout Mexico's history; women have been subjected to a dual standard: exalted in myth; they remain subordinated in their social role by their biology. But this dualism is not so much a battle between the sexes as the product of a social system. The injustices of this system have led Mexican women to conclude that they deserve a better world; one worth struggling for. Published originally in Spanish as Mujeres en México: Una historia olvidada; this work examines the role of Mexican women from pre-Cortés to the 1980s; addressing the interplay between myth and history and the gap between theory and practice. Pointing to such varied prototypes as the Virgin of Guadalupe; La Malinche; and Sor Juana; Tuñón contrasts what these women represent with more realistic but less-exalted counterparts such as Josefa Ortiz de DomÃnguez; La Güera RodrÃguez; and Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza. She also discusses the identity transformation by which indigenous women come to see themselves as Mexicanas; and analyzes such issues as women's economic dislocation in the labor force; education; and self-image. In challenging the illusion that historians have created of women in Mexico's history; Tuñón hopes to recover feminism—with its strengths and weaknesses; its vision of the world that is both intellectual and full of feeling. By examining the social world of Mexico; she also hopes to determine those situations that cause oppression; exploitation; and marginalization of women.
#1001073 in Books Gerald F Linderman 1989-04-17 1989-04-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .90 x 6.00l; 1.37 #File Name: 0029197619368 pagesISBN13: 9780029197615Condition: NewNotes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Review
13 of 17 people found the following review helpful. Courage and the Civil War SoldierBy C. Ellen ConnallyThe inability to unerstand the mind set and motivation of another generation is the challenge facing those who attempt to look at the past and particularly those who take a bottoms up approach to the study of history. Gerald Linderman faces this challenge in EMBATTLE COURAGE. Primarily through the use of letters and diaries; Linderman allows the reader to probe the psychological motivation of Civil War soilders and attempts to answer the question: what lead soldiers to fight.As soldiers lost their connection to the civilian world and suffered from hunger; depravation and the cruelty of war; they abandoned earlier concepts of respect for the property of fallen comrades and opponents. Foraging gave way to looting and looting gave way to destruction of private property. Civilians who watched as spectators during early battles and were considered separate and apart from the military effort were eventualy encompassed into the term enemy. The discussion of civilian involvement and attacks on the civilian population reminded me of discussions during the Vitnam war of attacks by the United States military on civilian villages and the military justification that was provided.Linderman admits in his introduction that he does not include the 180;000 blacks who fought in the Civil War. He does include women through the use of letters and reflections on thier support on the home front. According to Linderman; women strongly supported te concept of courage throughout the war even after soldiers had abandoned it. However; such statements as "Women in both North and South set themselves staunchly against desertina" (P. 91) seems extremely general and assumes that women were totally accepting of the hardships they were forced to endure. This depiction of their continuing opposition to desterions during the entire war depicts women as static and unaffected by the circumstances of life while one of the themes of the book is the changes of attitude and perception that men experienced. thelong casualty lists; service in hispitals; keeping family farms and plantations operating without fathers brothers and husbands surely affected the attitudes of women regarding desertations and continuation of the war; a point that Linderman fails to consider.The Civil War soldier marched off to the unknown. He brought with him pieces ofhome; such as homemade quilts lovingly made by mothers; sisters and wives. He also brought with him their shared dreams and social values. Like the homemade quilts; those dreams and social values were left by the side of the road early in the war. The burden of carrying them in the face of combat and death was too heavy. The horrors of war and advances in the technology of fighting changed the soldiers and forced a separation between them and their communities; a relationship that has been open to much historical debate. The war changed the soldiers and they also changed the nation.Gone was the innocence of an earlier age. As America experienced its second revolution; it changeld like the soldiers who fought in it.Bell Irvin Wiley set the standard for the conventional wisdom on the motivation of Civil War soldiers in his 1943 and 1953 works. Based on his research; Wiley concludes that men enlisted primarily out of ecnoomic need and because their communities pressured them. They stayed and founght largely for the sake of their friends. James W. McPherson; takes a different view. While not dismissing the findings of Wiley and Linderman; McPherson concludes that Union and Confederate soldiers possessed deeply held political and ideological convictions; which were the major reason they enlisted; remained in the ranks and fought. Confederate soldiers acted largely out of the convcition that there were defending rights and liberty and Union soldiers believed that self government and thier own freedom depended upon upholding the Republic against division and anarchy. Emphasizing duty and honor; McPherson finds a strong reliance on obligations of duty and pride.Linderman looks first at the conception of war held by American soldiers and civilians during the Civil War and then at motivation. He focuses on vlunteers of 1861 and 1862; both North and South; and shows how the values held by these soldiers and their home communities evolved; changed and eventually bifurcated under the stresses of camp life; combat; military hospitals and physical depravation as the war progressed.In Lnderman's views; the core motivation of Civil War soldiers was courage. However; courage must be seen in light of the companion viruties of manliness; Godliness; duty; honor and kinghtliness; all of which were shared with those on the home front. This concept of courage coupled with religious faith was so strong early in the war that soldiers believed that it protected them from physical harm. And indeed it did protect them as long as both sides held the same standard. Soldiers on opposing sides sometimes withheld fire on an officer or man who demonstrated extraordinary valor in combat. This early war; as described by Linderman; was a war in which men had no respect for sharp shooters and guerila fighters and withheld fire when men were answering to the call of nature. The cessaion of combat by virtue of an informal truce; trading between the lines and withholding firing on pickets was common.Relying on the letters of literate middle class soldiers; it is interesting the speculate whether or not Linderman would have reached the same conclusions relying on the now silent voices of the generally illiterate lower classes.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Straight from the horse's mouth!By Sergeant RockA must read for anyone calling one's self a Civil War history student! This treasure contains direct quotes from both north and south about combat in the Civil War.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. CoolBy Tor-dizzleI bought and read this for a class I was taking and actually ended up liking it. I found it to be interesting and informative.
