Discussion Questions
October 12, 2010
- For the historian using advertisements as evidence to reconstruct the
past, how can we reconcile the social tableaux advertisements described
by Marchand with testimony such as "When the Whistle Blows" or "I Am
Only a Piece of Machinery"?
- What were the common female advertising stereotypes, according to
Marchand, and what can they tell us about society and gender during the
period?
- What are the limitations of advertising as "mirrors of society" for the
historian?
- "Women were as much victims as they were beneficiaries of the new
technologies, freedoms, and consumerism of the 1920s." Discuss with
specifics this contention.
- How did the "freedom" of the 1920s alter female sexuality during that
decade?
- "While Eleanor Roosevelt was often viewed as an advocate of women's
progress during the 1920s and 1930s, she merely reinforced existing
stereotypes concerning women." Discuss with specifics.
- Considering all of the materials relating to women in tonight's
readings, how would you sum up the situation of women during the 1920s,
bearing in mind both the specifics of the readings and the nuances of
assessment necessary for historians.