The New Radicals: Education and Literature for the Emancipation of Russian Women
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC 271
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Russian Women, Radicalism, Literature, Education
Abstract
Russian literature of the 1860s served as a catalyst for upper-class Russian women to question the trajectory of Russian society and their place in it. Literature became one of the few outlets for young women to identify and articulate dissatisfaction with the inequality of educational options offered to them. Empowered by the literature of the 1860s that inspired women to step outside the sphere of domesticity, they became active members in the Russian revolutionary currents that were sweeping through the empire. They demanded equal educational rights, and when that was denied, they found ways to work around the oppressive bureaucratic system that was the Russian autocracy. Literature taught women that they should no longer view themselves as lesser members of society, but as individuals who were just as capable as their male counterparts. By demanding equal access to education along with literature that was inspiring women to become active in politics, women were becoming part of the radicalism that was sweeping through the empire.
Recommended Citation
Seelye, Elizabeth, "The New Radicals: Education and Literature for the Emancipation of Russian Women" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 21.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/oralpresentations/21
Department/Program
History
Additional Mentoring Department
History
The New Radicals: Education and Literature for the Emancipation of Russian Women
SURC 271
Russian literature of the 1860s served as a catalyst for upper-class Russian women to question the trajectory of Russian society and their place in it. Literature became one of the few outlets for young women to identify and articulate dissatisfaction with the inequality of educational options offered to them. Empowered by the literature of the 1860s that inspired women to step outside the sphere of domesticity, they became active members in the Russian revolutionary currents that were sweeping through the empire. They demanded equal educational rights, and when that was denied, they found ways to work around the oppressive bureaucratic system that was the Russian autocracy. Literature taught women that they should no longer view themselves as lesser members of society, but as individuals who were just as capable as their male counterparts. By demanding equal access to education along with literature that was inspiring women to become active in politics, women were becoming part of the radicalism that was sweeping through the empire.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Roxanne Easley