Nationalism
The Weeping Widow
The world’s first female prime minister, Sirimavo Bandaranaike of what was then Ceylon, is the archetypical example of what political scientists sometimes refer to as the “widow’s walk to power,” in which a woman steps into a position of political power after the often-violent death of her husband.The assumption is such women will carry on…
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With the Bayeux Tapestry in the news….
The Bayeux Tapestry is in the news right now. The French President has committed to loaning Britain the tapestry at some time in the future: the equivalent of an InterLibrary Loan between nations. I must admit, when I first heard something about this I was only halfway paying attention. My first reaction was “Oh, no!…
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From Heroine to Harridan
As I’ve worked on the subject of women warriors over the last year, a few things have surprised me. One of the surprises was the important role played by women in sieges. Historically, women who fought to defend their city walls were the most common type of women warrior, outnumbering many times over the combined…
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