Rulers, thinkers, politicians, warriors – conventional historical communicative served in textbooks, lectures or exhibitions in museums is to a large degree a communicative about men. However, Kowalczyk wonders what happens if the angle of view changes.
Anna Kowalczyk (journalist, social activist, blog author Divine Mother) decided to face the hard but essential task of writing the past of women on Polish lands. From the many sources she utilized and which were provided by enthusiasts and enthusiasts of the idea, an effort was made to tell the communicative from a different point of view. There's no dry news. Here they come out of the shadow of experience and characters, which for centuries have been considered marginal, and yet are essential to our identity.
What will we see if we look at it differently?
Rulers, thinkers, politicians, warriors – conventional historical communicative served in textbooks, lectures or exhibitions in museums is to a large degree a communicative about men. However, Kowalczyk wonders what happens if the angle of view changes. If what has been considered sidelined so far – children's education, neighbourhood networks, care, work on the farm – is considered a central component of history.
Finding answers brings amazing results. The author shows that women had more origin than she attributes to them a stereotype not only in Slavic times. Subsequent eras, from Christianity to the Polish People's Republic, brought about constant negotiation of women's position in the planet of rights, standards and social expectations.
Nine chapters – 9 glances
The clear structure of the book is an unquestionable advantage. Each chapter, although describing a separate era, is at the same time a fragment of a larger puzzle.
In the ancient and early mediate Ages, women co-create communities, play economical and ritual roles. Christianity brings regulation of matrimony law, but besides the improvement of monastery education. Renaissance and Baroque in turn show the large influence of queens, magnates and property owners, and the processes of witchcraft uncover fears and control mechanisms.
In the 19th century, the political figure is the “Mother of Poland”, but real women work in factories, establish associations and teach children. In the Second Republic, women are winning electoral rights, but barriers to access to professions are not eliminated and equality does not scope out to the family. During planet War II, women become couriers, paramedics and besides militants, but this memory is blurred. The PRL introduces formal equality of a formal nature and mass professional activation, but this gives emergence to a "double job": first at work, second at home. III of Poland is simply a time of transformation and return to reproductive restrictions, but besides dynamic protests, which clearly shows that past is inactive written.
History of Dailyity as Philosophy
Book reviews frequently indicate that the book Kowalczyk is popular, accessible to readers. It's true. The author does not make a hermetic academic dissertation. He tells in a colorful and interesting way, referring to anecdotes, quotes and iconographic sources. But what struck me in this publication is its philosophical dimension.
The book shows that past is not only political decisions and battles, but besides the everyday lives of average people. What was "second-rate" in conventional communicative – childcare, cooking, weaving, social support networks – is the key to knowing the whole. Kowalczyk recalls that you can't talk about a full communicative without including all social actors. A Missing Half of History is simply a communicative not only of women, but of the essence of history. It shows that power and war do not have a monopoly on the word “historic”. past is simply a communicative of human experience in its full spectrum.
Women aren't an accessory.
Kowalczyk's lesson leads to the conclusion that women are the foundation of history, not an addition to them. They were the ones who raised subsequent generations, introduced innovations on the farm, frequently managed wealth or carried out social activities. They were the ones who maintained the functioning of the communities during the wars. The author does not idealize – she besides shows limitations, violence, control, double standards. But all the more so, her book reveals the fullness: women were always present, although the historical communicative systematically marginalized them.
Why is this crucial today?
The book Kowalczyk was published in 2018 – at the minute erstwhile disputes about reproductive rights were increasing in Poland and women were massing out on the streets. Today, from the position of further protests and tightening of the law, its message is even more relevant. It is impossible to realize the present without historical context – without knowing how the laws, responsibilities and capabilities of women have changed over the centuries.
For the reader this is besides a lesson in critical thinking: all historical origin is simply a perspective. And since for centuries the male voice prevailed, the more you gotta perceive to the voices left out.
***
A Missing Half of History It is simply a book that can be read as a popular discipline guide, but besides a manifesto. It is an invitation to look at the communicative more broadly – including those who have been left out. It is besides a reminder that what seems "secondary" frequently determines the endurance of the community and the form of society.
Anna Kowalczyk does not compose a fresh “women's history” as a separate branch. Rather, it demands a fuller communicative – 1 that does not ignore half of its characters. And in this sense, her book is an crucial step towards a more just collective memory.
