Françoise Thébaud (born 1952) is a French historian, professor ''
emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some c ...
'' of history, and specialist in the
history of women
Women's history is the study of the role that women have played in history and the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of women's rights throughout recorded history, personal achievements over a period o ...
. In 2017, she was awarded the
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
Early life and education
Françoise Thébaud was born in 1952.
She studied at the
École normale supérieure de lettres et sciences humaines
The (ENS LSH) was an elite French ''grande école'' specialising in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Founded in 1987 in Paris as the École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud, it changed its name to ENS LSH in 2000 when it mov ...
, and completed a 3rd cycle thesis entitled (When our grandmothers gave life: motherhood in France in the interwar period). She completed the ''
Agrégation d'histoire'' in 1975.
Career and research
Thébaud was a teacher-researcher from 1985 to 1997 at
Lumière University Lyon 2
Lumière University Lyon 2 () is one of the three universities that comprise the current University of Lyon system, having splintered from an older university of the same name, and is primarily based on two campuses in Lyon itself. It has a total ...
and then, in 1995, presented a university
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
dissertation in history entitled (Writing the history of women: assessments and perspectives),
[''Écrire l'histoire des femmes : bilans et perspectives'', Fontenay-aux-Roses : ENS éd., DL 1998. (in French)] at Lumière University Lyon 2. She served as professor of
contemporary history
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
at
Avignon University
Avignon University ( French: ''Avignon Université''; formerly known as ''Université d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse'') is a public university located in Avignon, France and founded in 1303.
Avignon University is situated on two campuses: ...
, from 1997 to 2007, before assuming the title of professor ''emeritus''. Affiliated with (Institute of Gender Studies of the
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
) and Labex EHNE (), some of Thébaud's research has focused on:
* history of feminisms and feminists
* social and political history of motherhood
* writing and epistemology of history: from the history of women to the history of gender
In her book (When Our Grandmothers Gave Life) (1986), Thébaud draws on censuses, demographic and economic statistics, medical theses, obstetrics and childcare manuals, to reconstruct the experience of motherhood. She shows in particular that pronatalist propaganda pushes women to be convinced that childbearing is a national duty, at the same time as an accomplishment of their nature. In her review of the book, the historian Marie-France Morel writes that Thébaud proposes "new issues in the history of women", as well as a questioning of the medical power and the functioning of maternities.
[Marie-France Morel, compte-rendu sur "Quand nos grands-mères donnaient la vie. La maternité en France dans l'entre-deux-guerres", 1986, in ''Annales de démographie historique'', 1988, Les transitions démographiques]
pages 427-431
(in French)
In 1995, she co-founded the history journal, ''
Clio. Femmes, genre, histoire'', serving as its co-director from 1995 to 2012.
In 2003, she was co-editing it with
Michelle Zancarini-Fournel;
in 2008, she was co-editing it with .
Until 2009, she served as president of the association for the development of the history of women and gender.
Thébaud edited volume 5 of (from the Histoire des femmes collection, Plon-Laterza, 1992; reissue completed in paperback in 2002) and published (ENS Éditions, 1998). She also co-edited (Feminisms and National Identities) (Lyon, Center Jacques Cartier, 1998) and (Editions de l'Atelier, 2004). Her (Paris: Stock, 1986; revised ed. 2014), is considered the classic work regarding the experience of French women during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Awards and honours
* 2017,
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur[ (in French)]
Selected works
Books
Articles
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thebaud, Francoise
1952 births
Living people
20th-century French historians
21st-century French historians
Avignon University
Women's studies academics
Women's historians
Knights of the Legion of Honour