| Joan Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1928 New York City |
| Died | 15 August 1982 (aged 54) New York City |
| Pen name | Joan Kelly-Gadol |
| Occupation | Historian, Feminist |
| Nationality | American |
Joan Kelly was a prominent American historian who wrote on the Italian Renaissance, specifically on Leon Battista Alberti. She earned a PhD at Columbia University in 1963 and served as a lecturer, then as an assistant, associate, and full professor of history at the City College of New York of the City University of New York from 1956 until her death from cancer in 1982. Among her best known works is the article "Did Women Have a Renaissance?" which was published in 1977. The article challenged the contemporary view of the Renaissance, arguing that women's power and agency declined during the early modern period.
Kelly was married to Eugene Gadol until 1972 and to Martin Fleischer from 1979 until her death.
Contents |
In the essay “Did Women Have a Renaissance?”, Kelly presents a feminist insight into women's role in society during the Renaissance period of the 1350’s to 1530’s. The article mentions females' economic/political roles, sexuality, cultural roles, and the sex-role system of the Renaissance era. Wives of the nobility during this time were granted more power than peasant wives in regard to economic and political roles, although both classes of woman were still imprisoned (in their own homes) during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was an artistic and literary movement. The art work and literature that was created during this time to celebrate life also emphasized female dependency and male domination. As Joan Kelly mentioned in this essay, bourgeois literature expressed the denial of female independence. Therefore, the Renaissance set the world wide norm of female dependency on the male figure. The men had to perform productive labor, while women stayed at home to perform reproductive labor such as house hold duties and child care.[1]
Did Women Have a Renaissance?, by Joan Kelly
A finding aid for Joan Kelly's papers, 1973-1984