Political Journalism by Mexican Women During the Age of Revolution, 1876-1940
Pouwels, Joel Bollinger

Description

This book is the only comprehensive work on the subject of Mexican women’s involvement in journalism from its hidden beginnings in colonial times to the mid-twentieth century. By 1940, a few women had become star reporters in Mexico City, the geographical focus of this study. After an introductory chapter on the colonial roots of women’s journalism, the book focuses on the revolutionary period from 1876 to 1940. During these tumultuous years, a handful of extraordinary women broke into journalism in order to promote various social and political causes. In the process, they expanded women’s journalism beyond the society pages, and made political journalism a respectable career for women. Short excerpts from the works of these pioneering women appear throughout Pouwels' book. In addition, each chapter closes with a full-length article by one of the writers featured in that chapter. The end-of-chapter selections, never before republished, both exemplify the writers’ works and summarize the burning issues of their times. All primary and secondary-source excerpts in Spanish appear also in English translation, making the material accessible to interdisciplinary women’s studies scholars and students who must rely on English translations.

In addition to synthesizing the historical and biographical data, this book compiles and evaluates the widely dispersed, and sometimes contradictory, secondary-source material. The index and exhaustive bibliography, which are usually lacking in Mexican sources, will facilitate future research in this area.

Reviews

“The history of Mexican journalism is long and storied, dating from the introduction of the first printing press in the Americas in Mexico City in 1535 ... A great strength of the present work is the mini-biographies the author provides. For the first time, we have a collective portrait of these women trailblazers whose experiences allow the scholar to see not only the changes affecting Mexican journalism, and the modern newspaper, but the public niches these amazing women carved for themselves as the country first emerged as a ‘modern state’ during the Porfiriato and later fell headlong into a destructive and transforming revolution ...” (from the Preface) – Professor Phyllis L. Smith, Mars Hill College, North Carolina

“Beginning with the colonial era and ending in 1940, Dr. Pouwels provides a comprehensive study of Mexican women’s journalism in this study. This is more than an exploration of journalists, however, as Dr. Pouwels utilizes her study to further expand our knowledge on women’s involvement in Mexican political change throughout the centuries ... Guiding the reader through the larger issues of Mexico’s history, Dr. Pouwels actively engages with women’s personal struggles to change the world for the better through their writings. As the author points out, through weekly or monthly journals, newspapers, and articles, women not only broke down journalism’s gender barriers, but they also influenced Mexico’s great political events ...” – Professor Stephanie J. Smith, The Ohio State University

“This book has been too long in coming. The author addresses a gaping hole in Mexican women’s history, chronicling nearly a hundred years of women’s journalism, from the nineteenth century through the nineteen forties ... Perhaps the most valuable contribution of [Dr. Pouwels’] research will be to permit students of this history ready access to these texts in a way that will greatly facilitate future work in any number of related subjects ...” – Professor Stephanie Mitchell, Carthage College, Wisconsin

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. The Roots of Mexican Women’s Journalism (1530-1900)
2. Journals and Chronicles of Women Revolutionaries (1900-1920)
3. Women Chroniclers of the Turbulent Twenties (1920-1930)
4. Career Women Journalists of the Nineteen Thirties (1930-1940)
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

ISBN10:  0-7734-5874-3   ISBN13:  978-0-7734-5874-1    Pages:  304    Year:  2006   

Series: hors série Number: 0

Subject Areas:  Journalism, Women's Studies,

Imprint: Edwin Mellen Press

USA List Price: $119.95 UK List Price: £ 74.95  

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