ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on gender history in a historical didactic perspective and within an intersectional approach. Concepts like historical consciousness, historical empathy, gender, and continuity and change are used to analysis the history of gender in Europe in an educational perspective, as well as its meaning and importance in present-day society. Another central perspective is the reciprocal relation between historical agents and structures. The text emphasizes different themes in a chronological overview from prehistoric time until the end of the 20th century. The overview can be fruitful to use in history teaching in purpose to help students to understand which processes that formed the complex relation between men and women in private as well as in public life and with what consequences on society and individuals. For instance, themes such as patriarchal structures, family life, class, work division, and religion stretch over all historical periods, while women’s political struggles mainly permeate the period 1750–2000. This chapter shows that gender issues and the work to promote gender equality are constant processes that affect both women’s and men’s conditions. Crucial changes and continuities have been influenced by the actions of individuals and groups, as well as by the surrounding structures of society. Like historical agents, we mean that students are both parts of history, as well as makers of history. Students influence history through their opinions, values, and actions, which in turn are influenced by the students’ present as well as their past. This is an important lesson in a historical didactic perspective.
