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The secret history of home economics : how trailblazing women harnessed the power of home and changed the way we live / Danielle Dreilinger.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., [2021]Edition: First editionDescription: xv, 348 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781324004493
  • 1324004495
Subject(s):
Contents:
Everything you know about home economics is wrong -- The road to home economics -- The Lake Placid Conference -- Food will win the war -- Perhaps it wasn't really a man's job after all -- It's up to the women -- Clothes moths work for Hitler -- From coveralls to housecoats -- The iron fist in the oven mitt -- Selling Mrs. Housewife -- New directions -- New homemakers build the future -- Beyond stitching and stirring -- Addressing the enemy -- Home economics at risk -- What would Ellen do? -- How to bring back home ec.
Summary: "The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics. The term "home economics" may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken cakes. But obscured by common conception is the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople that were otherwise foreclosed. In The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field's history from small farms to the White House, from Victorian suffragists to Palo Alto techies. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them; Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by Black women who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics' women, as they chose being single, shared lives with women, or tried for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a maligned subject to its rightful importance"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 640.92 D771 Available 33111010473938
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The term "home economics" may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken muffins. But common conception obscures the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople. And it has something to teach us today.

In the surprising, often fiercely feminist and always fascinating The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field's history from Black colleges to Eleanor Roosevelt to Okinawa, from a Betty Crocker brigade to DIY techies. These women--and they were mostly women--became chemists and marketers, studied nutrition, health, and exercise, tested parachutes, created astronaut food, and took bold steps in childhood development and education.

Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them. Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by women of color who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics' women, as they chose to be single, share lives with other women, or try for egalitarian marriages.

This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a denigrated subject to its rightful importance, as it reminds us that everyone should learn how to cook a meal, balance their account, and fight for a better world.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Everything you know about home economics is wrong -- The road to home economics -- The Lake Placid Conference -- Food will win the war -- Perhaps it wasn't really a man's job after all -- It's up to the women -- Clothes moths work for Hitler -- From coveralls to housecoats -- The iron fist in the oven mitt -- Selling Mrs. Housewife -- New directions -- New homemakers build the future -- Beyond stitching and stirring -- Addressing the enemy -- Home economics at risk -- What would Ellen do? -- How to bring back home ec.

"The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics. The term "home economics" may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken cakes. But obscured by common conception is the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and businesspeople that were otherwise foreclosed. In The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field's history from small farms to the White House, from Victorian suffragists to Palo Alto techies. Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them; Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by Black women who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics' women, as they chose being single, shared lives with women, or tried for egalitarian marriages. This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a maligned subject to its rightful importance"-- Provided by publisher.

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