Visibility and recognition of women in history

Nora Fernandez Fernandez 

Today, Wednesday December 21, a seminar on the female presence in History is being held on the Fuenlabrada campus. The act is organized by the professors of the department of Historical and Social Studies, Spanish Language, Literature, Moral Philosophy and Specific Didactics; Isabel María Pascual Sastre, Elena Sánchez de Madariaga, Juan-Andrés García Martín and Cristina B. Martínez García.  

According to Isabel Pascual, the main coordinator of the event, "this seminar is the result of a teaching innovation project of the extinct FCSJ." The objective of said project was “to make visible that female presence in history that is often difficult to trace and see how it influences students when it comes to doing their jobs. For this reason, we try to keep them in mind in our subjects and motivate students to investigate them”.  

The aim of the innovation project is, therefore, more didactic than academic: these conferences aim to have an effect on students beyond transmitting theoretical knowledge. The desired result would be to see how research and the general concept of women in history is changing in pursuit of female visibility. For this reason, "beyond the academic content, about which a former student of the URJC will be in charge of speaking to us, the purpose of this meeting is for the students to present their work and to serve as an example to the attendees from practice," says Pascual.   

Thus, several students of the History degree will present their works focused on women that have been proposed in the different subjects of the coordinators. According to Pascual, “the idea is that, through the exhibitions, attendees see a stimulus to follow in his footsteps. Educationally we found it very useful as an essay for the future work of the students and their presentation in public”.  

In addition, the variety of topics that will be addressed from Antiquity to the most modern times is very wide. In this sense, Pascual wanted to point out that, firstly, "the poster was going to be the one designed by J. Howard Miller, the one we all know, but finally we decided to somehow unite the old with the modern and propose this other one, which is a fresco from Pompeii with the famous message 'We can do it!'”.  

Lastly, the general coordinator of the conference wanted to “thank all the members of the faculty and the new dean for the very good reception our initiative has received. Also to the department directors and all those who have made these conferences possible, for their work and dedication”.