★ 01/18/2021
Journalist Dreilinger debuts with a revealing story from the field of home economics. Created in the late 19th century as a progressive and reforming discipline that sought to “change the world through housekeeping,” home economics was viewed by its founders, including MIT chemist Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911), as a subfield of the economy that had the potential to eliminate both poverty and drudgery. Universities established home economics departments, and the government sought the expertise of prominent home economists during both World Wars and the Great Depression. Noting that African Americans were often excluded from organizations and professional opportunities, Dreilinger gives full attention to the work of black domestic economists, including Flemmie Kittrell (1904-1980), whose career spanned academia, government service and national and international civil rights activism. Detailing the changes in American education that have largely marginalized the field since the 1980s, Dreilinger describes the stages of its revitalization, including diversification and a renewed focus on life skills and the transformative social and ecological vision that the discipline at his best married. With lively prose and captivating portraits of dynamic and accomplished women, it is a vital and inspiring reassessment of an often caricatured field. (May)
“This book tells the unexpected story of how home economics began as an intellectual refuge for intelligent women – black and white alike – who were otherwise barred from studying science, but eventually became a lesser field. rigorous and more conformist. Black women were at the forefront of this story, and their role is an eye-opener. Dreilinger makes a compelling case for bringing back the skills that home economics alone could teach.
“Dreilinger’s animated account offers an in-depth look at a profession that allowed women to participate in public life even when they were excluded from most jobs and fields of study… We can thank home economics for a number of features of contemporary life.
“[An] revealing story…[A] excellent reminder of the value of the field and the importance of these skills for anyone at any age. »
“Finally, someone has written a social history of American domestic economists that is neither condescending nor hostile. Generations of remarkable women have created and sustained a scientific profession in the face of what was, until very recently, a prejudice incessant sex. Kudos to Danielle Dreilinger for this highly readable and highly sophisticated account of the women who have had such an enormous impact on American society and culture.”
“A fascinating history of the field and the contributions of very determined women…[S]stimulating.”
“There is one important thing that you will fully understand after reading The Secret History of Home Economics: our ancestors were not to be taken lightly… Readers of women’s history will love this book, as will general historians, feminists and anyone interested in the domestic arts.
“By reading Danielle Dreilinger’s biography of this long neglected and deeply influential field, we come to understand not only the secret history of home economics, but also the secret history of American feminism. Dreilinger’s arguments for continuing to reinvent this much-maligned discipline for the 21st century provides a thoughtful and precise roadmap of how and why schools can teach children not just to manage their homes effectively, but to become lifelong advocates for racial equality, gender and social.
2021-01-28
A study of how home economics has reflected changing attitudes towards women’s lives over the past 150 years.Education journalist Dreilinger debuts in a lively book with a well-researched history of home economics, founded in the late 19th century by women who believed that improving the home through science would improve the society. Over the years, the field, calling itself a domestic science, has expanded its scope. Home economists, writes the author, “created food groups, the federal poverty line, the consumer protection movement, clothing care labels, school lunches, the discipline of women’s studies and Rice Krispies Treat”. The author offers skilful portraits of women who have shaped the field. These include Ellen Swallow Richards, for example, a chemist who became MIT’s first female instructor and wrote books on adulterated food and the chemistry involved in housework; and his contemporary Margaret Murray Washington (wife of Booker T.), who wrote Working for Southern Women of Color, a housekeeping manual for poor black rural women, hoping that improving the home would hasten racial equality. For much of its history, the estate has been plagued by racism and xenophobia. Yet home economists have found opportunities in businesses, labs, and universities that would otherwise have been closed to them. In 1923, the field gained status when President Warren Harding established the Bureau of Home Economics, whose purpose was to research “the scientific basis of the mechanics of life.” World War II saw a revival of respect for Bureau scientists, who “discovered how to sterilize wool, treat cotton against mold, and improve the flavor and nutrient retention of dehydrated foods”. After the war, however, when women were told to quit their jobs and stay home, the field, Dreilinger writes ruefully, became “repressive, boring” and commoditized. The Office ended in the early 1960s, and home economics turned away from its scientific roots to emphasize the pleasures of the household and the responsibility of women to nurture strong and happy families.
A new contribution to women’s history and a resurrection of contributions too often overlooked.
“[A] exciting beginnings… Dreilinger charmed me with his account of home ec’s fascinating past.
“I took home economics by choice in seventh grade, and always assumed it was an outdated way to train budding housewives in Stepford. This book made me realize that everything I thought knowing about home economics was wrong. It’s a career that provided essential scientific knowledge and economic breakthroughs for women, and a story that’s so relevant today.”
“Home Economics proves to be relevant, important, in some ways revolutionary. Dreilinger tells it all in this entertaining journey that shows us that almost everything we thought we knew about the subject is wrong. Inspirational and fun!”
“This is a hugely interesting and engaging page-turning book… It will stimulate an important dialogue between people inside and outside the profession about our past and our present, and what should be the future of the profession, of education and of society.”
“I grew up in the 1960s, when home economics was compulsory for all ninth grade girls and meant two things: cooking and sewing. We baked cookies and served them on silver trays to the boys in Wood Shop We were sewing wrap skirts. We complained, a lot. Danielle Dreilinger’s The Secret History of Home Economics is a revelation. This secret history is rich in questions of gender and race, and opened the eyes of this former student of house sciences. He will also open yours.”
“Deeply researched and accurately written.”
“A groundbreaking book that unearths and presents some of the ‘hidden’ history of economics, in this case as practiced largely by women, and often black women. Think of it as science and the craftsmanship of Beckerian home production, but with management If you like books about unpublished paths, this one is for you.
“Home ec… may evoke lessons in baking blueberry muffins and sewing dresses, but in her detail-packed and fascinating book, Danielle Dreilinger blasts that cliche with glee.
“A fascinating, well-documented work of history on a subject long overlooked: how home economics helped shape American life. Full of delightful anecdotes, The Secret History of Home Economics argues that the often maligned and misunderstood home-based ec has always provided students, regardless of gender, with life-enhancing skills that should be revived. »
“In important new work revealing a startling story, Danielle Dreilinger has rescued women home economists from the past. Her well-written story gives us a new group of women to admire and learn from. She ends The Secret History of Home Economics with a timely call to bring back home economics classes as a compulsory part of education. His book will convince you that this field of study should find its place again in STEAM education for all.”
