6. 800-300 BCE Asian Philosophies and Women’s Place
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In Asia, three religious philosophies emerged that would define human lives for millennia to come: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. What do these philosophies have to say about women, and what roles did women play in their founding? This varied from faith to faith, although women feel a bit like an afterthought in each. But women are all over the founding stories and traditions.
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Malta Devi, Public Domain
In Asia, three of many religious philosophies have dominated the lives and experiences of women: Hinduism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. While different, these philosophies have existed in tandem, merged, and prescribed the way women should be treated and the role they should play– nothing like some serious mansplaining to last millennia.
Hinduism: In the Indian subcontinent, a religion known today as Hinduism was spreading. The fundamental principle was that the human soul was part of a universal soul or deity and that the final goal of humankind was to be unified with that soul. From its inception, Hindus worshiped many gods including female goddesses. Hindus believe in reincarnation and that through the process of birth and reincarnation humans would eventually progress to this elevated state. Good actions resulted in a rebirth at a higher social position or caste. This caste system, which divided Hindus largely into five groups, legitimized gender differences: being female was somehow a punishment for poor behavior in a previous life, and each caste had different ideals of womanhood. Like other spiritual traditions around the world who viewed women with hostility, misogynistic Hindu laws entrenched this patriarchy in tradition. The Laws of Manu for instance, composed in the early common era, stated that embryos were born male and the female babies were mutilated males produced by weak semen. It advocated for child marriage. And stated, “a virtuous wife should constantly serve her husband like a God.” It prescribed a philosophy similar to the Three Obediences found in ancient China. It also argued that a woman could only achieve spiritual salvation through her husband, and also equated all women - especially during menstruation - with the polluted lower castes. Although many now consider the Laws of Manu outdated, much of the patriarchal ethos remains entrenched in Indian and other Hindu cultures today.
Hinduism: In the Indian subcontinent, a religion known today as Hinduism was spreading. The fundamental principle was that the human soul was part of a universal soul or deity and that the final goal of humankind was to be unified with that soul. From its inception, Hindus worshiped many gods including female goddesses. Hindus believe in reincarnation and that through the process of birth and reincarnation humans would eventually progress to this elevated state. Good actions resulted in a rebirth at a higher social position or caste. This caste system, which divided Hindus largely into five groups, legitimized gender differences: being female was somehow a punishment for poor behavior in a previous life, and each caste had different ideals of womanhood. Like other spiritual traditions around the world who viewed women with hostility, misogynistic Hindu laws entrenched this patriarchy in tradition. The Laws of Manu for instance, composed in the early common era, stated that embryos were born male and the female babies were mutilated males produced by weak semen. It advocated for child marriage. And stated, “a virtuous wife should constantly serve her husband like a God.” It prescribed a philosophy similar to the Three Obediences found in ancient China. It also argued that a woman could only achieve spiritual salvation through her husband, and also equated all women - especially during menstruation - with the polluted lower castes. Although many now consider the Laws of Manu outdated, much of the patriarchal ethos remains entrenched in Indian and other Hindu cultures today.
Kali, Wikimedia Commons
Contradictorily, however, many Hindu deities remained female, unlike the Jewish and Christian faiths where the all male God was elevated over pagan female goddesses. Some of these goddesses were powerful, fearsome, and destructive. Were these just stereotypical tropes of powerful women, or were they feminist icons? One famous portrayal of the goddess Devi, in her incarnation as Kali, shows her standing with her foot on top of her husband‘s head. Powerhouse? Yes. Did it also legitimize male fear of women? Probably. Did she crush his head? We don’t know. Or perhaps another goddess ran up and kicked his head off his body like she was kicking a field goal. And thus American football was invented. Only kidding.
Entrenched in Hindu philosophy is the idea of shakti, or feminine power. It holds that the feminine power is indeed greater than masculine power, and thus in need of creative control. Nonetheless, it is believed that shakti and the masculine energy, Shiva, are equally codependent, and thus Hinduism can also provide a great model of equality at a spiritual level.
Entrenched in Hindu philosophy is the idea of shakti, or feminine power. It holds that the feminine power is indeed greater than masculine power, and thus in need of creative control. Nonetheless, it is believed that shakti and the masculine energy, Shiva, are equally codependent, and thus Hinduism can also provide a great model of equality at a spiritual level.
Confucius, Wikimedia Commons
Confucianism: In China, the rise and eventual adoption of Confucianism by the Han Dynasty represented a birth of uniquely Chinese culture that would last for millennia, but what was that like for women? Did the improved bureaucracies and emphasis on meritocracy extend to them as well?
Nah– Confucian ideology emphasized moderation, virtue, and filial piety and covered up the authoritarian policies of the regime. For women, Confucianism was, and remains, a problematic barrier to women’s rights and feminism and is deeply engrained in Asian cultures.
So who is this Confucius and what was his beef with women? He lived around 500 BCE and was considered one of the great Chinese sages. He was a bureaucrat, teacher, and philosopher. He lived in a time when leaders were corrupt and not working toward the needs of the empire and its people. He wanted social harmony and political stability grounded in trust and mutual moral obligations for China.
Confucius’ ideas were recorded as a philosophy, but one that is often associated with oppressing women through subjugation to the male head of the household, even to their sons during widowhood! So wait, you changed their diapers one day, and they stand over you the next? Whether Confucius intended this discrimination is hard to know, but Confucius and sexism are intertwined.
Perhaps there’s too much fire thrown at Confucius, after all, he basically ignored the existence of women in his writing. When 10 ministers came to see the King, Confucius states that 9 came– one of them was a woman. Why he neglected her is unclear. Was he commenting on the unusuality of a woman in that role? Or was he merely distinguishing men from women? There are only a few direct references to women, and one of them is hostile: “Women and servants are hard to deal with.”
Nah– Confucian ideology emphasized moderation, virtue, and filial piety and covered up the authoritarian policies of the regime. For women, Confucianism was, and remains, a problematic barrier to women’s rights and feminism and is deeply engrained in Asian cultures.
So who is this Confucius and what was his beef with women? He lived around 500 BCE and was considered one of the great Chinese sages. He was a bureaucrat, teacher, and philosopher. He lived in a time when leaders were corrupt and not working toward the needs of the empire and its people. He wanted social harmony and political stability grounded in trust and mutual moral obligations for China.
Confucius’ ideas were recorded as a philosophy, but one that is often associated with oppressing women through subjugation to the male head of the household, even to their sons during widowhood! So wait, you changed their diapers one day, and they stand over you the next? Whether Confucius intended this discrimination is hard to know, but Confucius and sexism are intertwined.
Perhaps there’s too much fire thrown at Confucius, after all, he basically ignored the existence of women in his writing. When 10 ministers came to see the King, Confucius states that 9 came– one of them was a woman. Why he neglected her is unclear. Was he commenting on the unusuality of a woman in that role? Or was he merely distinguishing men from women? There are only a few direct references to women, and one of them is hostile: “Women and servants are hard to deal with.”
It is from Confucius that we get the Yin Yang concept, that balances feminine qualities and male qualities as separate but equal. Feminists today reject this model as it has been used to justify women’s subordination and exclusion from life outside the home. Yin and Yang are starkly different, man and woman have different qualities. Yang is strong, but Yin is weak and yielding– please. Have you met women? A man was honored for his strength, yet a woman was glorified for her beauty.
Confucian philosophy meant that women lived pretty subjugated lives. Women could not earn money outside the home and were expected to leave their family to join their spouses when they married, so many baby girls were abandoned shortly after birth, a practice called “infanticide.” And this wasn’t restricted to China: baby girls in every region of the world faced the threat by simply being female. Female infanticide (by the way there is no male infanticide and it remains one of the largest human rights issues of our time) happened everywhere, and in many places continues today. One ancient Chinese man recalled, “even a poor man would bring up a son, but even a rich man will dispose of a daughter.” Girls in China who survived were given virtuous names like Chastity in hopes that she would live up to it. Chinese women had no control over who they married and had to live with their spouse’s family, who selected her as a strong mate. The old proverb went: “A boy is born facing in; a girl is born facing out.”
Confucianism solidified women’s second-class status, and culturally ingrained the prohibition on women’s formal education. Women’s education ebbed when outsiders gained control of traditional Chinese regions, but the persistent domination of Confucianism locked women into perpetual slavery to their families. One scholar wrote, “Few people teach their daughters to read and write nowadays for fear that they might become over ambitious.” Another wrote, “It is sufficient for women to know a glossary of a few hundred words such as fuel, rice, fish and meat for their daily use. To know more can do more harm than good.”
Analects About Women, an early text, encouraged girls to be chaste and silent. It also provided guidance for parents:
“Keep your daughter indoors… she ought to be under your total command. You should scold her roundly if she is not quick to obey, remind her often of self-discipline and household duties. Ensure that she shows due deference towards guests and that she retires quietly once the tea has been served. Do not spoil your daughter for fear of her becoming unruly. Never encourage or tolerate self-destructive behaviour for fear of fostering in her a suicidal tendency. Do not teach her to sing for fear of corrupting her mind. Do not let her loiter for fear of evil-temptation.”
Confucian philosophy meant that women lived pretty subjugated lives. Women could not earn money outside the home and were expected to leave their family to join their spouses when they married, so many baby girls were abandoned shortly after birth, a practice called “infanticide.” And this wasn’t restricted to China: baby girls in every region of the world faced the threat by simply being female. Female infanticide (by the way there is no male infanticide and it remains one of the largest human rights issues of our time) happened everywhere, and in many places continues today. One ancient Chinese man recalled, “even a poor man would bring up a son, but even a rich man will dispose of a daughter.” Girls in China who survived were given virtuous names like Chastity in hopes that she would live up to it. Chinese women had no control over who they married and had to live with their spouse’s family, who selected her as a strong mate. The old proverb went: “A boy is born facing in; a girl is born facing out.”
Confucianism solidified women’s second-class status, and culturally ingrained the prohibition on women’s formal education. Women’s education ebbed when outsiders gained control of traditional Chinese regions, but the persistent domination of Confucianism locked women into perpetual slavery to their families. One scholar wrote, “Few people teach their daughters to read and write nowadays for fear that they might become over ambitious.” Another wrote, “It is sufficient for women to know a glossary of a few hundred words such as fuel, rice, fish and meat for their daily use. To know more can do more harm than good.”
Analects About Women, an early text, encouraged girls to be chaste and silent. It also provided guidance for parents:
“Keep your daughter indoors… she ought to be under your total command. You should scold her roundly if she is not quick to obey, remind her often of self-discipline and household duties. Ensure that she shows due deference towards guests and that she retires quietly once the tea has been served. Do not spoil your daughter for fear of her becoming unruly. Never encourage or tolerate self-destructive behaviour for fear of fostering in her a suicidal tendency. Do not teach her to sing for fear of corrupting her mind. Do not let her loiter for fear of evil-temptation.”
Mahapajapati Gotami, Wikimedia Commons
Buddhism: Living and teaching around the same time as Confucius was Gautama Buddha, the father of Buddhism. He too had a powerful philosophy that had a massive impact on women’s lives.
Buddhism focuses on personal development and attainment of deep knowledge. Buddhists seek to achieve enlightenment through meditation, spiritual learning, and practice. They believe in reincarnation, that life is full of suffering, but the path to peace is through reaching nirvana: a joyful state beyond human suffering. Sounds amazing! So where did women stand in this?
In Buddha’s famous story, Mahapajapati Gotami and her sister Maya were princesses who married the king Súddhodona in ancient India. Maya gave birth to the boy who would go on to become the Buddha but she died only seven days after his birth. Her sister raised the boy along with her own children, even nursing him in infancy.
But Buddha renounces his wealth and the world, living in poverty for six years. It is a wealthy woman who offers him milky rice, enough fuel to allow him to meditate. The story goes that just before enlightenment, the Buddha-to-be was overwhelmed by Mara the God of Illusions and the Earth Mother came and washed Mara away with water from her hair. The Buddha is often pictured with a hand down to earth in gratitude for the Earth Mother.
Buddhism focuses on personal development and attainment of deep knowledge. Buddhists seek to achieve enlightenment through meditation, spiritual learning, and practice. They believe in reincarnation, that life is full of suffering, but the path to peace is through reaching nirvana: a joyful state beyond human suffering. Sounds amazing! So where did women stand in this?
In Buddha’s famous story, Mahapajapati Gotami and her sister Maya were princesses who married the king Súddhodona in ancient India. Maya gave birth to the boy who would go on to become the Buddha but she died only seven days after his birth. Her sister raised the boy along with her own children, even nursing him in infancy.
But Buddha renounces his wealth and the world, living in poverty for six years. It is a wealthy woman who offers him milky rice, enough fuel to allow him to meditate. The story goes that just before enlightenment, the Buddha-to-be was overwhelmed by Mara the God of Illusions and the Earth Mother came and washed Mara away with water from her hair. The Buddha is often pictured with a hand down to earth in gratitude for the Earth Mother.
Ananda asking Buddha, Public Domain
After the Buddha discovered the Middle Path and began to build a religious community, his aunt/adopted mother Gotami followed his teaching. Buddha improved women’s status by emphasizing man’s dependence on women, as woman is the mother of man, earning reverence and veneration. He also improved women’s opportunities in education and spirituality, by eventually, and reluctantly, allowing women into monastic life.
The story goes that after the death of his father, Gotami approached the Buddha to ask if women could join the order as nuns. He refused her request. Disheartened, Gotami and her many women followers proceeded to shave their heads and put on the yellow robes worn by Buddhist monks. They followed the Buddha as he traveled even though he had said they could not become nuns. They persisted in living as if they were already nuns, but still sought his blessing.
By tradition, the Buddha refused Gotami’s request three times. When at last one of the Buddha’s closest assistants, Ananda, offered to speak for the women, he was also at first refused. Buddha said, “women are stupid, Ananda. That is the reason, Ananda, that is the cause, why women have no place in public assemblies.” Changing tactics, Ananda asked the Buddha if women were capable of achieving sainthood. The Buddha agreed that they could but he still hesitated. Ananda then gently reminded the Buddha of the great love and service his aunt had rendered as his foster mother. Finally, the Buddha agreed that Gotami and the women who followed her could be ordained.
But, there was a catch. The Buddha said the women could be ordained only if they agreed to follow the “Eight Chief Rules”. The rules themselves applied only to nuns and they clearly dictated that, in every way, a nun would always be dependent upon monks and would occupy a more subservient role to the men of the order. Even a nun of “a hundred years standing”, said rule number one, should bow down to a monk even if he’d been ordained only a day earlier. Typical.
Gotami had a big choice to make. Her dedication to the Buddha and her advocacy on behalf of women like herself is unquestionable. Most of the women who followed her were also widows with adult children—women who had very few opportunities for making their own way in the world. However, Gotami’s acceptance of the Eight Rules would cement the lower status of women within Buddhism for generations to come. Ultimately, she accepted the terms because doing so opened up new possibilities for women in India even if it came with serious limitations.
The nunnery itself was revolutionary for women. Most women in India were entirely dependent on the men in their lives. The nunnery offered something unprecedented: women living independently from their families in prayerful pursuits.
The story goes that after the death of his father, Gotami approached the Buddha to ask if women could join the order as nuns. He refused her request. Disheartened, Gotami and her many women followers proceeded to shave their heads and put on the yellow robes worn by Buddhist monks. They followed the Buddha as he traveled even though he had said they could not become nuns. They persisted in living as if they were already nuns, but still sought his blessing.
By tradition, the Buddha refused Gotami’s request three times. When at last one of the Buddha’s closest assistants, Ananda, offered to speak for the women, he was also at first refused. Buddha said, “women are stupid, Ananda. That is the reason, Ananda, that is the cause, why women have no place in public assemblies.” Changing tactics, Ananda asked the Buddha if women were capable of achieving sainthood. The Buddha agreed that they could but he still hesitated. Ananda then gently reminded the Buddha of the great love and service his aunt had rendered as his foster mother. Finally, the Buddha agreed that Gotami and the women who followed her could be ordained.
But, there was a catch. The Buddha said the women could be ordained only if they agreed to follow the “Eight Chief Rules”. The rules themselves applied only to nuns and they clearly dictated that, in every way, a nun would always be dependent upon monks and would occupy a more subservient role to the men of the order. Even a nun of “a hundred years standing”, said rule number one, should bow down to a monk even if he’d been ordained only a day earlier. Typical.
Gotami had a big choice to make. Her dedication to the Buddha and her advocacy on behalf of women like herself is unquestionable. Most of the women who followed her were also widows with adult children—women who had very few opportunities for making their own way in the world. However, Gotami’s acceptance of the Eight Rules would cement the lower status of women within Buddhism for generations to come. Ultimately, she accepted the terms because doing so opened up new possibilities for women in India even if it came with serious limitations.
The nunnery itself was revolutionary for women. Most women in India were entirely dependent on the men in their lives. The nunnery offered something unprecedented: women living independently from their families in prayerful pursuits.
Confucianism and Buddhism spread throughout Asia and merged in some ways as the philosophies were not incompatible. In India for example, women’s status declined with the rise of organized and monotheistic faiths. The society had been patriarchal and had a strict caste system, but the abundance of powerful female goddesses and the existence of a female warrior class, shows that women were regarded with high status and respect. There was a prayer for a scholarly daughter and admiring texts for female academics. Vedic texts reveal that women were honored and empowered both in traditional domestic spaces as well as in public spaces traditionally dominated by men. Yet as the Buddhist, Jainist, Brahmanist faiths expanded, child marriages became more common, and by 200 CE, women’s right to education, selection in marriage, and other observable measures of freedom were withdrawn. The introduction of Brahmanism was the final nail in the coffin of women’s ultimate subservient position. Brahmanism is the belief in one true God, or Brahman.
In every part of the world, culture enforced the standard that a woman’s sole purpose was the rearing of the children. Those women who defied the norms did so at their own risk. Some were protected by class, others supported by men, and some found loopholes to exploit. But women who pushed the boundary too far, stood too strong, were denounced as whores and met with violence in the form of domestic abuse, honor killings, charges of witchcraft, or some other horrible demise.
Widows in many parts of the world, no longer virgins, were expendable. Sometimes during famines, people would eat older women to survive. In India, it was common for widows to commit suicide to join their spouse in the afterlife, for what purpose could she serve? These women, often child brides married at 7, had never had any choice in their life. On the death of their spouse, they were drugged and expected to join them on the burning pyre. While it is debated how commonly this actually happened, it remained as the ideal death for a widow.
By the end of this era, so much remained in question. Why did these norms develop? Why would women submit to these norms? Why were they so universally accepted? Would women be able to circumvent these norms? Would means of women’s education and liberation become available, if not in the modern sense? Would men stop being ridiculous?
In every part of the world, culture enforced the standard that a woman’s sole purpose was the rearing of the children. Those women who defied the norms did so at their own risk. Some were protected by class, others supported by men, and some found loopholes to exploit. But women who pushed the boundary too far, stood too strong, were denounced as whores and met with violence in the form of domestic abuse, honor killings, charges of witchcraft, or some other horrible demise.
Widows in many parts of the world, no longer virgins, were expendable. Sometimes during famines, people would eat older women to survive. In India, it was common for widows to commit suicide to join their spouse in the afterlife, for what purpose could she serve? These women, often child brides married at 7, had never had any choice in their life. On the death of their spouse, they were drugged and expected to join them on the burning pyre. While it is debated how commonly this actually happened, it remained as the ideal death for a widow.
By the end of this era, so much remained in question. Why did these norms develop? Why would women submit to these norms? Why were they so universally accepted? Would women be able to circumvent these norms? Would means of women’s education and liberation become available, if not in the modern sense? Would men stop being ridiculous?
Draw your own conclusions
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Are Hindu Goddesses feminist icons or stereotypical tropes?
In this inquiry, students will examine diverse sources related to ancient Hindu goddesses and determine how these goddesses are portrayed and if that portrayal is empowering to women and how different genders may perceive this portrayal. 
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Was Confucius sexist?
In this inquiry, students explore early Chinese writings about women to compare what Confucius supposedly said about women to common ideals for women. Students will also examine the writings of the most well-known female Confucian writers and how her ideas about women compare.
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How were women treated in this cuture? WEBQUEST
Measuring a culture by how they treat women is a great way to help students better understand society and time periods. Let the students become the historian and determine how "advanced" the society was. The following Webquest requires students to have access to the internet. On whatever time period or culture you are learning about in a World History, Geography, or Cultures class, ask students to look for articles that answer these questions, and ultimately let students decide how they treated their women.
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Why did women resist empire?
Women in the ancient world took up arms to fight empires. Despite all the gender barriers women crossed the gendered threshold into a man's world? Why? In this inquiry there are four examples of women who resisted empire in Rome and the Han and Wu empires in China. Why did they do it?
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- This website, Women in World History has primary source based lesson plans on women's history in a whole range of topics. Some are free while others have a cost.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in World History.
Bibliography
Goldin, Paul R. “Ban Zhao in Her Time and in Ours”, After Confucius: Studies in Early Chinese Philosophy (University of Hawai’i Press, 2005)
Goldin, Paul R. “Admonitions for Women”, Hawaii Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture (University of Hawai’i Press, 2017).
National Geographic Editors. “Chinese Religions and Philosophies.” National Geographic. N.D.https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/chinese-religions-and-philosophies
Ohnuma, Reiko. “The Debt to the Mother: A Neglected Aspect of the Founding of the Buddhist Nuns’ Order”, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Dec. 2006, Vol. 74, No. 4, pp. 861-901.
Phongsai, Arree. “The Eight Chief Rules for Bikkhunis”, The Tibet Journal, Summer 1984, Vol. 9, No. 10, pp. 35-37.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Willis, John E. “Ban Zhao”, Mountains of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History (Princeton University Press, 1994.
Goldin, Paul R. “Admonitions for Women”, Hawaii Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture (University of Hawai’i Press, 2017).
National Geographic Editors. “Chinese Religions and Philosophies.” National Geographic. N.D.https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/chinese-religions-and-philosophies
Ohnuma, Reiko. “The Debt to the Mother: A Neglected Aspect of the Founding of the Buddhist Nuns’ Order”, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Dec. 2006, Vol. 74, No. 4, pp. 861-901.
Phongsai, Arree. “The Eight Chief Rules for Bikkhunis”, The Tibet Journal, Summer 1984, Vol. 9, No. 10, pp. 35-37.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Willis, John E. “Ban Zhao”, Mountains of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History (Princeton University Press, 1994.
AUTHOR: |
Kelsie Brook Eckert
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Consulting Team |
Editors |
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Kelsie Brook Eckert, Project Director
Coordinator of Social Studies Education at Plymouth State University Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer, Consultant Professor of History at Maryville College. Chloe Gardner, Consultant PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Dr. Whitney Howarth, Consultant Former Professor of History at Plymouth State University Jacqui Nelson, Consultant Teaching Lecturer of Military History at Plymouth State University Maria Concepcion Marquez Sandoval PhD Candidate in History at Arizona University |
Ron Kaiser
Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy ReviewersAncient:
Dr. Kristin Heineman Professor of History at Colorado State University Dr. Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon Professor of History at Wilson College Sarah Stone PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Medieval: Dr. Katherine Koh Professor of History at La Sierra University Dr. Jonathan Couser Professor of History at Plymouth State University Dr. Shahla Haeri Professor of History at Boston University Lauren Cole PhD Candidate in History at Northwestern University Modern: Dr. Jack Gronau Professor of History at Northeastern University |
Remedial Herstory Editors. "6. 800-300 BCE ASIAN PHILOSOPHIES AND WOMEN’S PLACE." The Remedial Herstory Project. November 1, 2022. www.remedialherstory.com.
