Gender, Power and the Unitarians in England, 1760-1860

This new study looks at the role which the radical religious sect, the Unitarians, played in helping to open the door to female emancipation. In the process Ruth Watts reveals the complex relationship between religion, gender, class and education during this period. She examines how far the Unitarians were successful in challenging the educational and religious norms of the day and, through them, the ideas and social conventions affecting women. This will be essential reading for anyone studying the origins of the feminist movement, religious history or the history of education.

Ruth Watts

Introduction.  Part One 1760-1815.  1. The eighteenth century context: ideas on women and education.  2. Unitarianism and education.  3. Ideals into practice: Unitarians and women 1760s-1815.  4. To `loose the female mind': Unitarians and women 1760-1815.  Part Two 1816-1860.  5. The Unitarian Context.  6. Schooling for Unitarians 7. Knowledge is Power: Gentlemen of England.  8. Unitarians and education for the working class: a gendered concern?  9. Political economy, adult education, class and gender.  10. Unitarians and gender issues in the 1850s: the seeds of feminism.  Bibliographical Essay.