In a New Light: Histories of Women and Energy

In the early 1970s, a German study estimated that women expended as many calories cleaning their coal-mining husbands' work clothes as their husbands did working below ground, highlighting their role in industrialized work. However, women have been largely absent from energy studies. "In a New Light" explores the vital place of women in the shift to fossil fuels that spurred the Industrial Revolution, illuminating the variety of ways in which gender and energy intersected in women's lives in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe and North America. The essays deepen our understanding of the significance of gender in the history of energy and provide important insights as societies move towards a carbon-neutral future.

Format: Hardback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2021
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

In the early 1970s, a groundbreaking German study revealed that women expended an astonishing number of calories cleaning their coal-mining husbands' work clothes, equaling the energy expended by their husbands while working underground. This remarkable finding suggested that the home, traditionally associated with domestic tasks, was also a site of industrialized work, on par with factories and mines. However, while energy studies have begun to recognize the importance of social and historical contexts and produce more inclusive histories of the energy transitions that propelled industrialization, women have been notably absent from these accounts. "In a New Light: Women and Energy in the Industrial Revolution" seeks to rectify this oversight by exploring the vital role of women in the shift to fossil fuels that fueled the Industrial Revolution. Through a series of essays, the book illuminates the diverse ways in which gender and energy intersected in women's lives in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe and North America. The authors delve into women's labor in the home, where they managed the adoption of new energy sources, as well as their work as educators in electrical housecraft and their protests against the negative effects of industrialization. Together, these essays deepen our understanding of the significance of gender in the history of energy and of energy transitions in the history of women and gender. By highlighting women's energetic labors and concerns, the authors shed new light on energy use in the past and offer valuable insights as societies strive towards a carbon-neutral future.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228006183