Cette thèse de doctorat vise à combler un vide historiographique en proposant une synthèse sur l’avortement en France à l’époque moderne. Pratique interdite, confinée au secret, elle apparaît pourtant dans de nombreuses sources. Il s’agit tout d’abord d’interroger les discours sur l’avortement afin de comprendre les conditions de possibilité d’une telle pratique. L’avortement est, à cette époque, un terme polysémique, employé dans des contextes variés. Dans le champ médical, on s’interroge sur l’animation du fœtus, sa viabilité ; dans le champ juridique, il n’est pas distinct de l’infanticide, mais cette indistinction pose problème aux juristes. Et pour la première fois en 1791, le code pénal en fait un crime spécifique. Ce travail analyse cette évolution en questionnant les différents discours dans des domaines qui s’entrecroisent : médecine, droit, théologie. Cette thèse s’intéresse donc à la criminalisation de l’avortement volontaire mais aussi à la façon dont s’organise sa répression. En effet, l’avortement apparaît dans les archives judiciaires mais toujours associé à d’autres crimes, dans le cadre de procès pour « recel de grossesse et suppression de part », ou encore dans le cadre de l’affaire des Poisons à Paris à la fin du XVIIe siècle. Ce travail interroge les difficultés posées par la répression de l’avortement volontaire, ainsi que les biais engendrés par cette association à d’autres catégories criminelles. Cette étude porte enfin sur les pratiques elles-mêmes et appréhende l’avortement comme un phénomène social. Ce travail privilégie une approche par les acteurs/trices en s’intéressant aux femmes qui avortent et aux relations à leur entourage : mari ou amant, parents, etc. Une attention particulière est également portée à la question du secret, de la rumeur et de la dénonciation dans des communautés villageoises et urbaines, et enfin aux personnes à qui elles s’adressent pour avorter, aux savoirs sur l’avortement, à l’accessibilité de ces savoirs ainsi qu’à leur transmission. / This PhD thesis aims at filling an historiographical void by proposing an overview of abortion in early modern France. Though it is a secret and forbidden pratice, abortion appears in many sources. First, this work questions speeches about abortion in order to understand the conditions that enable its existence. At this time, abortion is a polysemous word that is used in a wide range of contexts. In the medical field the animation or viability of the fœtus generates multiple debates. Abortion is considered as a crime, but not separated from infanticide in the Law, which raises multiple questions. And for the first time in 1791, the penal code considers abortion as a specific crime. This work analyzes this evolution by questioning different speeches held about abortion in different but connected fields : medicine, theology, law. Consequently this thesis analyzes the criminalization of abortion as well as its punishment. As a matter of fact, abortion appears in judicial archives but is always associated with others crimes – in trials for « suppression de part et recel de grossesse », or in the context of the repression of poisoners led by the police in Paris since the end of the XVIIth century. The repression itself presents difficulties that this work analyzes, as well as the bias generated with its connection to other criminal categories. This study finally deals with the practices themselves and examines abortion as a social phenomenon. I mostly consider the actors and actresses of abortion and specifically the women who abort and their relatives (husband or lovers, parents, etc.,). I also pay special attention to secret, rumor and denunciation in the context of urban and rural communities, and finally to the persons women solicit to get an abortion, to knowledge, to access to this knowledge as well as its transmission.

The thesis addresses the topic of women in the process of the recatholization of Bohemia and focuses mainly on the first half of the 17th century. The author investigated if and how much the experience of women differed from that of men. More than the legislation and newly created norms the application of these directions enlightens the topic of women. Rich material connected to the activity of the recatholization commission and other authorities devoted to the conversion of Czech population was used. Sources of statistical character were used for evaluation of the results of the process. Because of their extent, regional restriction had to be made - we focused on Boleslavsko. In the focus of the thesis were mainly townswomen and lower nobility. One of the most important findings is the fact that the authorities saw women as important as men in the process. Although specific, seemingly more moderate, means for coercion were used in women's case. This flexibility is typical for the Catholic church's approach to women and we are in concord with other researchers, mostly from abroad. The findings also contribute to our knowledge of the process of the recatholization of the Czech lands. KEY WORDS Recatholization, Catholic reformation, women's history, gender history, early modern ages, counter-reformation.

Abstract This microhistorical study examines the local circle of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Växjö during the years 1935 to 1967. The purpose of the essay is to contribute to research in women’s history by describing and analyzing some of the association’s members and activities. The unprinted source material consisting of the association’s protocol books provides the basis for this study.  The theoretical basis is a gender perspective and a microhistorical perspective. Short biographies highlight the background and roles of the individual members in the association. The association’s organization and activities are described too. The analysis shows the members’ solidarity with other women, for instance through helping refugees. It also shows how the members used their economic, social and cultural capital in their peace efforts, and in forming networks both among themselves and with other organisations. In short, the members’ economic, social and cultural capital enabled them to work for peace. In their efforts they both came to challenge and maintain the gender system of their time.

The purpose of this study was to get a deeper appreciation of young women’s experiences based on choice of education and career after completing high school. Furthermore the study is based on mothers born in the 60's and daughters born in 90’s in the same family to be able to make a comparison and try to identify why womens stress level is so high today. The methodological approach used in this study is a qualitative method based on ten individual life stories. Moreover the material in this essay has been developed through an analytical induction. Theoretically, this study has used Pierre Bourdieu's cultural sociological perspective and the concepts of habitus, capital and social field in order to be able to identify what shapes women's life choices. An additional theoretical basis used in this study is Beverley Skeggs respectability and the concept of subject positions which is used to describe the different visions constructed based on how women should act in contexts linked to gender and class. This essay has concluded that norms and expectations from society have changed between the generations. The majority of women today feel that there are expectations of studying a post-secondary education at the same time as they have to invest in the family. Additionally, this study summarizes that people born in the 90’s have experienced more or less stress related to education and career, than people born inte 60’s. Furthermore, this essay has concluded that starting a family and family background, in one way or another affect women's attitudes towards education and career.

This study is an attempt to discover how women participating in the mid-nineteenth century migration to Oregon viewed the westward journey and themselves in relationship to it. It is not a survey of the responses of all women in the westward movement, but, rather, an exploration of the perspective of those women who left a written record of their perceptions or recollections. The thesis focuses on the diaries and reminiscences of women travelling, primarily but not exclusively, in the years 1851-1853. The introductory material consists of a review of the existing historical literature on women and the West, and a discussion of the methods and assumptions used in the thesis. Following this is a short sketch of the history of the migration to Oregon. The major part of the thesis is organized around five themes which emerge from women’s diaries and reminiscences.

This is an analysis of the connection between the domestic science and eugenics. While it is made clear by historians such as Megan Elias and Kathy Cooke that there is ample connection between eugenics and euthenics, there has not been as comprehensive an analysis of the direct connections between domestic science and eugenics. Close examination of literature from the domestic science movement reveals the shared goals of domestic science and eugenics. The domestic science movement was also a necessary precursor to the euthenics movement, not simply a “re-envisioning” of home economics by Ellen Richards. When Richards died, her euthenic ideals would continue to be a part of domestic science in the early decades of the twentieth century. This analysis will contribute in part to the understanding of how, through rhetoric, nations can progress towards more unsightly policies of social engineering from seemingly benign beginnings. Eugenics may not have origins in domestic science, a field of homemaking, cookery, etiquette, and child-rearing, but eugenics certainly shares goals, purposes, and a vision with domestic science.

The myth of the Amazons began in Ancient Greece. Renditions of the myth were found in art and literature of the Greeks and Romans in the ancient world. The image of the Amazons changed with the culture and ideology that discussed them. The Amazon myth reflected Greek and Roman views of women. Through looking closely at the three stages of the myth of the Amazons one can determine the myth strengthens the image of women that was held by men of the ancient world. The Amazons were connected with the heroes Heracles, Theseus, and Alexander the Great. Individual Amazons such as Antiope, Penthesilea, and Camilla were also dominant in the mythology of the Amazons. By completing a literary analysis of the myths of the Amazons beginning in the eighth century B.C. and through the fourth century A.D. one is able to see what was expected and deemed acceptable of women.

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Since the 1750s American women have flocked to churches. Women have consistently been the majority in church populations. Religion was the central motivation of the female life experience. Likewise, women comprised a significant portion of the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its first decade. There exists little historical analysis of the contribution and experience of these women as a whole. As a result of this lack of research some historians have made erroneous assumptions of patriarchal oppression and a lack of commitment on the part of early Mormon women. This project closely examines the religious experience of these earliest Mormon women through the documentary editing of nineteen letters written between 1831 and 1843.The women come from a variety of life experiences notwithstanding consistent membership in The Church of Jesus Christ. They come from a distinct geographical base, a wide span of education, are married and single, and vary in age from twenty to sixty-four years old. Despite these differences, they demonstrate a continuity of religious commitment and dedication.Three themes dominate their correspondence: spiritual knowledge, bearing witness, and sacrifice. They exhibit knowledge of the existence of God as a Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ as Savior of the world, and Joseph Smith, Jr. as God's direct mouthpiece. They repeatedly and unabashedly testify of these truths to their relations not yet acquainted with Joseph Smith and his message and admonish them to know truth for themselves. To husbands and soon-to-be husbands already believers in Smith's message the women demonstrate the application of these beliefs in their lives and a consistent faith. This knowledge and devotion creates a high level of commitment which leads them to follow Smith over thousands of miles and through fires of persecution. They willingly sacrificed whatever they felt that God required of them. Conviction was explicitly demonstrated through their personal writings proffering an intimate glimpse of a unique religion and belief as the motivation of these women. In religion they found a degree of autonomy to define themselves not readily available in other areas of their lives, they knew Joseph Smith to be a modem prophet with the sure word of the Lord to them. The claim to direct revelation from God was singular. Their conviction to it was sure enough to enable their adherence to this persecuted prophet, belief in new doctrine, and the church which Smith established rather than fulfilling their religious desires through the mainstream religions of the day.

This thesis discusses how the gender dynamics and religious festivals of the Yoruba people in Isaga Orile were not affected by colonialism. The study draws on various accounts, particularly from the Church Missionary Society’s journals, to attest to colonialism's restructuring of male political hegemony. Focusing on two major festivals, Gelede and Oro, the study argues that men's inclusion in Gelede reinforces female supremacy, while the Oro society shows men's hegemony and restrains women from its activities. The study found that gender dominants in these festivals played complementary roles by mirroring female and male roles within the Isaga Orile political system. The study concludes that these festivals strengthened political and gender dynamics in pre-colonial times and continued to do so during the British colonial regime, providing opportunities for women and men to assert their dominance and complement each other's roles in society, despite the restructuring of male political hegemony by colonialism.