Review of Women in Texas History, by Angela Boswell

Authors

Linda English, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2-2020

Abstract

Angela Boswell’s Women in Texas History is a narrative account of Texas history told through the experiences of women, spanning from the prehistoric period to Senator Wendy Davis’s marathon filibuster for reproductive rights on the floor of the Texas legislature in 2013. Throughout the book, Boswell’s gendered focus intersects with racial, ethnic, and class categories of analysis, providing an ambitious and highly inclusive examination of the state’s history. [End Page 130] On this approach, Boswell notes that “this book pays special attention to the differences in the lived experiences of Native Americans, Tejanas, African Americans, Anglos, Germans, and Asians. Other categories that shape women’s identity, such as class, religion, political ideology, and sexuality are also explored” (pp. xii–xiii). Recasting a state’s narrative history through the lens of sex and gender is not entirely new (see Albert L. Hurtado, Intimate Frontiers: Sex, Gender, and Culture in Old California [Albuquerque, 1999]); however, Boswell tackles the entirety of Texas history, shifting the focus away from overly familiar characters and events from the state’s past.

Comments

Original published version available at https://doi.org/10.1353/soh.2020.0048

Recommended Citation

English, Linda. Review of Women in Texas History, by Angela Boswell. Journal of Southern History 86, no. 1 (2020): 130-132. doi:10.1353/soh.2020.0048.

First Page

130

Last Page

132

Publication Title

Journal of Southern History

DOI

10.1353/soh.2020.0048