The role of women in the Enlightenment
According to the first video of the lecture lessons on Enlightenment, the enlightenment period was when scholars of classical literature started to construct their thinking and creation around objectivity rather than individuality. During the period, literature scholars’ thoughts became centralized around collective thoughts and the formation of a centralized institution rather than emotional rebellion and inner feelings. According to the author, romanticism was found in the first phase of neoclassicism as an ancient literature movement. However, one of the most significant issues of the enlightenment period was the role that women played during the movement or the development of Enlightenment.
The concept of Sophia that the lecturer introduced to the beginning of Section four video on the Enlightenment opens up the window to a vast knowledge of women’s role in the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment era hoped to change some of the social views of women in society through characters like Sophia. Sophia was an unidentified character that contributed to the development of the enlightenment period in a non-radical manner by arguing about the place of women in society by provoking their biologic role in society’s foundation. Sophia came up with the idea that turned around society’s normal assumptions and argued that men were made for moments use because of the women’s pivotal role in recreation. Therefore, according to her, women were superior to men and not vice versa. However, it is not clear whether Sophia was male or female. The stand on gender issues was enough to contribute positively to the Enlightenment element, which involved creating decentralized ideas through literature. The argument considers the issue that women were superior to men and therefore required equal treatment as men in society.
The fourth video reading argued that women were protective and conservative, and men were biased and hungry for power, and their titles were useless. This contributed to Enlightenment by being generous of their knowledge that they impacted society and their children. According to this argument, women are more intelligent and should not be treated in how society treats them. In general, women contributed to the Enlightenment by bringing into perspective rational arguments about equality among the most significant issues that defined the era.
Section six video focuses on Mary Robinson and her contribution to the element of women’s equality in the Enlightenment. Her focus is on social inclinations and how they have impacted the general society. The lecturer explains how Mary Robinson’s actions and contributions to literature impacted Enlightenment by making proactive arguments about women’s place in the general society. Therefore, women were generally very significant in Enlightenment literature, and their role in the development of the art cannot be underscored or underestimated. Women were among the most fundamental contributors to Enlightenment literature because they brought forth crucial debates that the built the name and identity of the era.
References
- Samson. 2020. Video 1, Week 1, The Enlightenment.
https://fcu.openedu.tw/courses/coursev1:FCU+JNC2020023+2020023/courseware/0d37083290254139acfa7276e2b165fa/a8d14bb576744500b7ca40004338f15c/1?activate_block_id=block-v1%3AFCU%2BJNC2020023%2B2020023%2Btype%40vertical%2Bblock%400e080a15f0df4b13817228d3954859e8
- Samson. 2020.Video 5 Week 1: The Enlightenment. Sophia. https://fcu.openedu.tw/courses/course-v1:FCU+JNC2020023+2020023/courseware/0d37083290254139acfa7276e2b165fa/a8d14bb576744500b7ca40004338f15c/1?activate_block_id=block-v1%3AFCU%2BJNC2020023%2B2020023%2Btype%40vertical%2Bblock%400e080a15f0df4b13817228d3954859e8
- Samson. 2020.Video 6 Week 1: The Enlightenment. Mary Robinson. https://fcu.openedu.tw/courses/course-v1:FCU+JNC2020023+2020023/courseware/0d37083290254139acfa7276e2b165fa/a8d14bb576744500b7ca40004338f15c/1?activate_block_id=block-v1%3AFCU%2BJNC2020023%2B2020023%2Btype%40vertical%2Bblock%400e080a15f0df4b13817228d3954859e8