The Secret History of Home Economics
How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live
by Danielle Dreilinger
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Pub Date May 04 2021 | Archive Date Apr 30 2021
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Description
The surprising, often fiercely feminist, always fascinating, yet barely known, history of home economics.
The term “home economics” may conjure traumatic memories of lopsided hand-sewn pillows or sunken muffins. But common conception obscures the story of the revolutionary science of better living. The field exploded opportunities for women in the twentieth century by reducing domestic work and providing jobs as professors, engineers, chemists, and business-people. And it has something to teach us today.
In the surprising, often fiercely feminist and always fascinating The Secret History of Home Economics, Danielle Dreilinger traces the field’s history from Black colleges to Eleanor Roosevelt to Okinawa, from a Betty Crocker brigade to DIY techies. These women—and they were mostly women—became chemists and marketers, studied nutrition, health, and exercise, tested parachutes, created astronaut food, and took bold steps in childhood development and education.
Home economics followed the currents of American culture even as it shaped them. Dreilinger brings forward the racism within the movement along with the strides taken by women of color who were influential leaders and innovators. She also looks at the personal lives of home economics’ women, as they chose to be single, share lives with other women, or try for egalitarian marriages.
This groundbreaking and engaging history restores a denigrated subject to its rightful importance, as it reminds us that everyone should learn how to cook a meal, balance their account, and fight for a better world.
About the Author: Danielle Dreilinger is a former New Orleans Times-Picayune education reporter and a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow. She also wrote for the Boston Globe and worked at the Boston NPR station WGBH.
Advance Praise
"A fresh contribution to women’s history and a resurrection of contributions too often overlooked." - Kirkus Reviews
"I grew up in the 1960s when Home Economics was required 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 sewed wraparound skirts. Some of us complained, a lot. Danielle Dreilinger’s The Secret History of Home Economics is a revelation. That secret history is rich with gender and race issues, and opened the eyes of this former home ec student. It will open yours too." - Ann Hood, author of The Knitting Circle
"A thorough, delightful, inspiring history of heroines whose stories Dreilinger gloriously rescues from the compost heap of history." - Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA
"A pathbreaking book that unearths and presents part of the 'hidden' history of economics, in this case as practiced largely by women, and often black women at that. Think of it as the science and craft of Beckerian household production but with a managerial emphasis. If you like books on paths not taken, this one is for you." - Tyler Cowen
"A fascinating work of history, extensively researched, on a subject long ignored: how home economics helped shaped American life. Full of delicious anecdotes, The Secret History of Home Economics makes the case that home ec, often maligned and misunderstood, always provided students regardless of gender with skills that make life better, and should be revived." - Nancy Jo Sales, author of American Girls
"This book tells the unexpected story of how home economics began as an intellectual haven for smart women—Black as well as white—who were otherwise blocked from studying science, but ended up as a field less rigorous and more conforming. Black women were at the forefront of this history, and their role is a revelation. Dreilinger makes a convincing case for bringing back the skills that home economics alone could teach." - Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health, emerita, at NYU and author of Let’s Ask Marion
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781324004493 |
| PRICE | $27.95 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Michael A, Educator
This was a fantastic read that did much to challenge the traditional interpretation of Home Economics as an inherently conservative field of study. The feminists presented here forged pathways for women in the working world, a surprising number in STEM fields. Dreilinger also does an excellent job highlighting the voices of marginalized women, particularly women of color, in her narrative. This particular focus challenged many of my preconceptions of Home Economics as a white dominated field. A fascinating history of an underappreciated and often overlooked discipline. Highly recommended.
Brandon W, Educator
Such an interesting book- one that I think contributes a lot to understanding women's roles in the private sphere throughout the 20th century. The idea of turning domestic work into a science isn't one that I think is ever thought about but makes perfect sense.
This is written well, also. There is a good mix of analytical history but also great story telling about individuals who have shaped this science and academic study
I teach at an all-girls school and will definitely incorporate some of this information into my teaching. It is a great tool to connect to other larger themes in history and to make it more relevant for them.
Alexis T, Reviewer
A fascinating look at the history of home economics and its role in shaping a growing and changing country. I was unaware of just what a role furthering domestic skills played in feminism and, often, in keeping families afloat during America’s toughest times.
By combining history and narrative, Dreilinger illustrated how women used home economics as an entry point to STEM fields, higher education and economic independence. While time and time again, this history shows flaws in terms of racism, xenophobia and socioeconomic elitism, seeing how the field evolved (or perhaps didn't) with the times was very interesting.
This book carefully evaluates the ways that “women’s work” has saved a nation time and time again while being brutally honest about the not so savory aspects of the field. A very informative and engaging read.
Nancy A. B, Reviewer
The Secret History of Home Economics promised to be interesting, but I had no idea how radical this history was, ot how pervasive its impact on society and politics. Danielle Drelinger's history is full of surprises.
I was in junior high, girls were required to take a semester of Home Economics classes. In cooking, I learned how to use displacement to accurately measure shortening. In sewing, we used the Bishop method to make an apron and an A-line skirt.
I admit, I thought that Home Ec was pretty lame and meant for future housewives. And yet...I taught myself to cook from scratch and to sew, how to organic garden and bake bread, and how to follow a pattern and to make quilts.
It turns out that there was a reason I felt that way. In the 1960s when I had those classes, the concept of home economics had been diminished from it's roots when scientists and feminists founded home economics studies. I was unaware of the impact on society the home economics had during wartime or in promoting social and advancing racial equity. And I certainly did not know that home economics also enforced a middle class, American, white life style on immigrants, people of color, and the rural poor.
As society changed, the use of home economics reflected the times.
Drelinger introduces us to a series of intelligent women who were barred from male-dominated careers. Their used their skills in science to study nutrition to help the war effort, support government control to enforce pure foods and temperance, and they created the first nutritional guidelines.
They worked with business to promote new electronic appliances and created recipes for food companies. They wrote pamphlets to support food conservation and the remaking of clothes during the war.
On the dark side, some supported Eugenics and immigrants traditional heritage was ignored as they were pressured to assimilate.
Overall, a fascinating and enlightening read.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
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