Women and Gender in the Early Modern World
180.jpg "Ashgate Book Series Listings")
Series Editors: Allyson Poska, The University of Mary
Washington, USA and Abby Zanger
2009 marks the tenth anniversary of Ashgate's series, Women and
Gender in the Early Modern World.
 |
Selected titles from this
series |
The study of women and gender offers some of the most vital and
innovative challenges to current scholarship on the early modern
period. Now approaching its tenth anniversary, Women and Gender
in the Early Modern World is an established forum for
presenting fresh ideas and original approaches to the field.
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary in scope, this Ashgate book
series strives to reach beyond geographical limitations to explore
the experiences of early modern women and the nature of gender in
Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. We welcome proposals for
both single-author volumes and edited collections which expand and
develop this continually evolving field of study.
To celebrate the anniversary of the series, editors Allyson
Poska and Abby Zanger spoke to Ashgate about their experiences over
the last ten years
What first drew you to study this particular
area?
Allyson Poska: I began as a social historian
with little interest in gender history, but my interests changed
when I began teaching at a public liberal arts college that had 85%
male faculty and a more than 60% female student body. I was
only the second woman in the History Department. Suddenly, gender
issues became very relevant to my career as a teacher and
scholar. I also happened to be researching a region of Spain
where women were in the majority due to high rates of male
migration.
Abby Zanger: I was interested in gender studies
from the time I was in high school, but the field was only just
taking form. When I was in graduate school, there were very
few women faculty, even in the field of French, where in most
programs, the students were largely women. I was warned,
however, not to work on a gender topic, as it would ruin my
career! I first addressed the subject formally in my second
large scholarly project, a book on the marriage of Louis XIV, where
I looked at how various representations of the new queen affected
the portrayal of the king. I should add that I have always
have seen gender as more than just about women and their
history. The subject also concerns men, sexuality more
generally, gender orientation, perceptions and representations of
gender, etc.
Did you start with a clear idea of how the series would
develop? Have you been surprised by the direction that it's
taken?
AP: I’ve actually been surprised at the fact
that the series has developed in such a linear fashion. We knew
what we wanted in the beginning and it has panned out almost
exactly as I envisioned it.
AZ: I would add that I have been particularly
intrigued by the way certain areas have developed what I might
refer to as mini-lists within the series. For example, we have
a number of books on gender and print, on masculinities, on visual
images, etc. Some of these subtopics were more predictable
than others.
Did you decide from the outset that the series would be
interdisciplinary, or did it arise naturally from the nature of the
subject?
AP: We knew that our colleagues in various
disciplines wanted to pursue interdisciplinary research, but were
concerned that they had no place to publish innovative works. Their
work did not fit into the series available through more traditional
publishing houses. This was a particular concern for younger
scholars, who wanted to push disciplinary boundaries. It was
clear from our earliest discussions that we wanted to create a
forum for both new and more senior scholars to engage in this kind
of research. Ashgate offered us a fabulous opportunity to make that
happen.
AZ: The study of women and gender has
always been interdisciplinary, in part, because at the outset
thirty years ago, there were not a large number of scholars working
in this area. They had to talk to each other. Of course
inter-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary work has become the norm
for younger scholars. It is just a natural fit between
interdisciplinary work and the study of women and gender. I
believe some of the most innovative interdisciplinary work is
taking place in the field studying women and gender.
Looking back, are there any titles you've been involved
with that stand out as especially memorable?
AP: I have no favorites. I am proud of all of
our titles and authors.
AZ: I agree, although I am particularly proud
of titles where we worked closely with the authors to give them the
space and freedom to develop their ideas. One of the hallmarks of
the series is that we want to publish good work and if we like the
subject, if it is original and rigorous, we will work with the
author to help them improve the book.
What do you find particularly interesting or enjoyable
about your roles as series editors?
AP: It is always an amazing learning experience
working with Erika Gaffney. She has really taught me a lot in
the past decade. This series would not exist without her foresight,
resolve, and hard work. In addition, I love working with first
time authors, talking to them about how to revise their
dissertations and encouraging them to take intellectual risks.
AZ: Adding to what Allyson has said, Erika
Gaffney is the consummate professional. She has lent a tone
and professionalism to the series that is unmatchable. People
want to publish in our series because they want to work with Erika.
Another aspect that I personally find enjoyable is the having the
ability to find the best work in the field and to be able to
publish it. Many publishers have shied away from books on the
early modern world (and on early modern Europe) because they cannot
sell enough to make it profitable. Ashgate is to be commended
for its support of this scholarly area. It is such a pleasure
for me to talk to scholars, particularly young scholars, and to be
able to say, yes, we will be able to publish a book like this,
please send a proposal, because often they are frustrated or
worried about finding a publisher and even thinking, as Allyson
mentions below, that they will need to change their topic. So
I would add as well that it has been a pleasure to have the support
of Ashgate in this endeavor.
What do you think the series has achieved in the last
ten years? Do you feel it's had an effect on how the study of women
and gender in history has developed?
AP: I like to think that we have removed some
of the anxiety for authors who want to do interdisciplinary,
multidisciplinary or just innovative work on early modern
women. They no longer have to feel like they must alter their
intellectual visions in order to get their works published. In
terms of the field writ large, I’m not really in a position to
judge, but I hope that we have helped bring non-European women and
masculinity studies into the conversation about early modern gender
and encouraged cutting-edge research.
AZ: I agree and I would add that we have
certainly helped to expand the boundaries of the field beyond just
women or just Europe. Before this series I think that many
people were very familiar with work on women done in the field of
English (history and literature) because there were more places to
publish such work. So I feel we have made work on women
outside of Europe, and certainly outside the Anglophone world, more
available and more visible in the scholarly arena in North America
and the UK.
Do you have any plans for the future - where do you see
the series going in the next ten years and beyond?
AP: We continue to be eager to expand beyond
Europe to the rest of the early modern world. We have made
some progress in that area, but there is much more to do.
AZ: I agree with Allyson, although I would also
add that we have yet to sit down and talk about our plans. We
tend, I think, to respond to what is out there, that is the talks
we hear and work we read. We have the luxury to ask people to
submit their work to us. We have definitely been trying to
expand beyond Europe, because this is what the larger scholarly
world has been doing. We also, I think, should be trying to
find innovative ways to look at the field more generally, beyond
the question of regionalism. I don’t know yet what that
innovation will be, but I think that when the excitement of
studying new or less canonical regions (of the world) dies down,
and it will, that scholars will look once again at what they are
doing and ask how can we do this work differently or better. I
hope we will be on the vanguard of that moment as well.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to publish in
the series?
AP: Talk to us. We are excited about your work
and want to help you.
AZ: Yes, do not hesitate to talk to us about
your ideas and do not hesitate to send in proposals. If they
are not quite ready, but seem like good ideas, we will send them
back to you. It is rare we refuse a project outright because
it is not quite ready. We want to see more books published in
this field and, as Allyson says, it is our goal to make that
happen.