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76239-01 - Proseminar: Histories of Menstruation in the 20th Century: Technologies, Hygiene, and Taboo in East and West and the "Global South" (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2025 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Anna Dobrowolska (anna.dobrowolska@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course introduces students to key theories and methods in the field of critical menstruation studies, in particular the critical history of menstruation. Focusing on the history of menstrual discourses and menstrual management practices in the twentieth century, the Proseminar will shed light on the evolving and ambiguous character of social taboos surrounding menstrual blood. In the Proseminar, we will critically analyze academic literature which deals with issues such as the history of period products and menstrual businesses, the political uses of menstruation, the development of educational materials, and on public health challenges such as the Toxic Shock Syndrome crisis of the 1980s. Where applicable, we will also study relevant primary sources, such as advertising and educational materials, art projects, and period products themselves. Acquainting students with anthropological approaches to studying taboo and pollution as well as with queer theory on degendering menstruation, the Proseminar offers a theoretical introduction into the history of the body, and gender and queer history. On a practical level, it introduces students to a variety of primary sources and methodological approaches from history and anthropology. The Proseminar surveys literature from various geographical contexts, in particular research which concentrates on the history of menstruation in North America, Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in the ‘Global South’. |
| Bibliography | 1. Douglas, Mary. 2008. Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concept of Pollution and Taboo. Repr. Routledge Classics. London: Routledge. 2. Freidenfelds, Lara. 2009. The Modern Period: Menstruation in Twentieth-Century America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 3. Ghodsee, K., ‘Revenge of the Tampon: Gender and Materialisms (New and Old) in the 20th Century Central and Eastern Europe’, Connexe : Les Espaces Postcommunistes En Question(S), 9/1 (2023), 125–42 4. Ilic, Melanie. 1994. “Soviet Women Workers and Menstruation: A Research Note on Labour Protection in the 1920s and 1930s.” Europe-Asia Studies 46 (8): 1409–15. 5. Kissling, Elizabeth Arveda. 2006. Capitalizing on the Curse: The Business of Menstruation. Boulder, Colorado.: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 6. Milliken, Christie. 2022. “From Corporate Discourse to Menstrual Equity? A History of Menstruation Films.” In Routledge Handbook of Health and Media, edited by Therese Jones and Lester D. Friedman, 206–18. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007661-18. 7. Røstvik, C.M., Cash Flow: The Businesses of Menstruation (London, 2022) 8. Rydström, Klara. 2020. Degendering Menstruation: Making Trans Menstruators Matter. Edited by Chris Bobel, Inga T. Winkler, Breanne Fahs, Katie Ann Hasson, Elizabeth Arveda Kissling, and Tomi Ann Roberts. The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0614-7. 9. Sitar, P., ‘Female Trouble: Menstrual Hygiene, Shame and Socialism’, Journal of Gender Studies, 27/7 (2018), 771–87 10. Steinem, G., ‘If Men Could Menstruate’, Women’s Reproductive Health, 6/3 (2019), 151–52 11. Strange, Julie Marie. 2000. “Menstrual Fictions: Languages of Medicine and Menstruation, c. 1850-1930.” Women’s History Review 9 (3): 607–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/09612020000200260. 12. Tarzibachi, E., ‘The Modern Way to Menstruate in Latin America: Consolidation and Fractures in the Twenty-First Century’, in C. Bobel, I.T. Winkler, B. Fahs, K.A. Hasson, E.A. Kissling, and T.-A. Roberts (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies (Singapore, 2020), 813–31 13. Vasilyev, Pavel. 2020. “Re/Production Cycles : Affective Economies of Menstruation in Soviet Russia , ca . 1917-1953.” Body Politics 8: 62–79. 14. Vostral, Sharra Louise. 2019. Toxic Shock: A Social History. New York: New York University Press. 15. Weinstein, Laura. 2006. “The Significance of the Armagh Dirty Protest.” Eire-Ireland 41 (3–4): 11–41. https://doi.org/10.1353/eir.2007.0012. |
| Admission requirements | Für Studierende des BSF Geschichte im Grundstudium mit abgeschlossenem Einführungskurs Geschichte. Teilnahme an der ersten Sitzung ist obligatorisch. Die Teilnehmer:innenzahl ist auf 25 beschränkt. Bei Überbelegung werden Studierende des BSF Geschichte, die noch kein Proseminar in dem Modul absolviert haben, bevorzugt zugelassen. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 12.15-14.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 4 |
Dates
| Modules |
Modul: Basis Neuere / Neueste Geschichte (Bachelor's degree subject: History) Modul: Basis Osteuropäische Geschichte (Bachelor's degree program: Eastern European Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Departement Geschichte |