Postmodern Patchwork: Some Recent Trends in the Writing of Women's History in Canada

Abstract

DURING THE PAST DECADE, the writing of women's history in Canada has flourished and reached a new level of methodological nd analytic complexity. In the early stages of women's history, the energies of a relatively small number of practitioners were consumed mostly in locating and preparing the raw materials needed to piece together the story of women's contribution to the development of Canadian society. Like quilters, individually and collectively, they created the colourful blocks of material they hoped could quickly be assembled into a meaningful pattern that might be called women's experience. As an increasing number of craftspersons have added new blocks, embroidered and appliqu•d old ones, the emerging product appears to resemble more closely a turn-of-the-century 'crazy quilt,' with its eclectic elements and intricate design, than the easily deciphered, symmetrical pattern of the pioneer's 'log cabin' version. What has been lost in the simplicity and convenience of generalization, however, has been more than compensated for by the variety and richness of detail embodied in the evolving work. New themes have been tackled and old ones subjected to revisionist interpretations as the diverse nature of women's historical experience is increasingly documented. And like the unique patchwork homespun quilts created by Canadian pioneer women, the current product exhibits recurring patterns and integrafive designs, despite the heterogeneity of the constitutive