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Women in the Catalogues

Subjects
Social Studies, History

Themes
 Changing roles and images of women

Resources

Description

  1. Ask students to read the papers by Shirley Lavertu and Lorraine O'Donnell, which discuss how women are portrayed in historical catalogues.
     
  2. Ask students to look in various historical catalogues for examples of how women are portrayed on the covers and on the pages.
     
  3. Print out, sketch, or make note of specific examples of women in each catalogue, showing different roles such as homemaker, career woman, or athlete.
     
  4. Engage in a class discussion about how the portrayals changed or stayed the same and how these portrayals reflect changes in women's roles.
     
  5. Extend this activity to the present day by comparing the portrayals of women in the historical catalogues with those in contemporary catalogues.

 
   
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