"Without hesitation, I replied that I wanted to put women into history. No, I corrected myself, not put them into history, because they are already in it.... What I was learning in graduate school did not so much leave out continents and their people... as it left out half the human race, women. I found it impossible to accept such a version of the past as truth."
-Gerda Lerner, on her academic interests
Lerner, a historian who specialized in women's history, has passed away at the age of 92.
To say that she "specialized" in women's history is actually kind of an understatement. During and after obtaining her Ph.D in history in the 1960s, she was instrumental in helping establish women's history as a legitimate academic discipline.
I've read several of her books and, when she was touring for her autobiographical book Living with History/Making Social Change, I was fortunate enough to hear her speak on it. I feel indebted to her scholarship and courage.
My condolences to her family and those who were close to her.
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