On the first day of class, I ask students how they think history will look different
with women in it and have them write their answers down. On the last day, we compare
their expectations with what they have learned over the semester. Often the discrepancies
are interesting and worth exploring. For example, some students expect to discover
women's victimization and are surprised to find that women possessed types of
cultural and social power. Many students begin the semester expecting that women
would routinely unite across lines of class and race and are disappointed by the
rarity of these alliances. Other students are shocked to discover how long it
took for women to achieve rights or privileges that they take for granted.