Bio: (1876–1958) American historian, social critic, and feminist. Mary Beard was one of the leaders in the women’s suffrage movement and championed female education and the empowerment of women workers. Beard is considered by many to be one of the founders of women’s studies. She argued for the introduction of university courses focused on women. Beard created the World Center for Women’s Archives, a historical archive of women’s contributions to humanity.

In Woman as Force in History (1946), her most influential work, Beard argued against the feminist viewpoint of that time, which saw women as a totally subjugated gender throughout history, and called this view a ‘‘fantastic myth.’’ Beard contended that civilization itself was created by women, as they are morally superior to men, who initially resembled ‘‘beasts,’’ but were ‘‘lifted’’ by women from an uncivilized and brutish existence and civilized them and the whole society. She argued that historians, due to their patriarchal bias, neglect this major positive impact that women had in history. In her books, Beard analyzes how the intersection of class, race, and gender made women subjugated and exploited by capitalist patriarchy. The book The Force of Women in Japanese History (1953) researches the position of women in a highly patriarchal Japan.

Main works

American Citizenship (1914);

Woman's Work in Municipalities (1915);

A Short History of the American Labor Movement (1920);

History of the United States (1921);

The Rise of American Civilization (1927);

The American Labor Movement. A Short History (1931);

On Understanding Women (1931);

America Through Women's Eyes (1933);

A Changing Political Economy as It Affects American Women (1934);

Laughing Their Way: Women's Humor in America (1934);

The Making of American Civilization (1937);

America in Midpassage (1939);

The American Spirit. A Study of the Idea of Civilization in the United States (1942);

Basic History of the United States (1944);

Woman as Force in History. A Study in Traditions and Realities (1946);

The Force of Women in Japanese History (1953);

The Making of Charles Beard (1955).