Women's History Month 2023: Her Life in 31 Objects

It's March, which means it is Women's History Month. This year's theme is...

So, why this theme? I spent January teaching a class on Material Culture at SLIG (the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy). I loved the opportunity to create a course that combined genealogy, social history, and material culture. Teaching that class gave me the idea of how we could incorporate material culture with researching female ancestors.

You may be asking, "what is material culture?" Basically, it's "stuff." It's items that humans create. Yes, there are more academic definitions I could give you, but for now, I think simple is best.

When we think about researching female ancestors' lives, we need to explore sources and methodology outside our comfort zone. I believe social history and material culture should be part of our genealogical research. 

For each day of Women's History Month (31 days in total), I will be focusing on an item that can help us learn about our female ancestors. This item will either have genealogically relevant information or provide social history context. The hope is that it might help you think differently about your research.  I'm loosely basing this series on books and exhibits that tell a historical story in "100 objects." I want you to think about a female ancestor and how you can tell her story based on objects.

I want to encourage you to not only read these posts but take into consideration how the information may help with your research. Feel free to post on your blog or social media your ideas or experience with the item. Use the items as a prompt to help you with your research or writing.

Now for some housekeeping. Each day I will post a new item, so please check back. If you want to read previous posts for Women's History Month, see the links to the right or search my blog for "Women's History Month." I have been posting Women's History Month posts for 10 years. Each year is a different theme.

Special thanks to Tami Mize of Conference Keeper, who designed this year and previous years' banners.

Thanks for joining me! See you March 1st!