Early Modern Women's Work

Early Modern Women's Work examines the contributions of female writers, artists, scientists, religious leaders, and patrons who engaged in entrepreneurial, intellectual, and emotional labor in German-speaking Europe.

Patricia Anne Simpson is Professor of German at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her research interests encompass the literature and history of German-speaking Europe, from early modernity to the present. Her recent monograph, German Empires and Decolonial Fantasies, 1492-1942 (2025), engages German colonial entanglements and the narratives they generated from the perspective of contemporary critical race theory.

Introduction: Early Modern Women's Work: Kinship, Community, and Social Justice Chapter One: Emotional Labor: The Work of Mourning Chapter Two: Acts of Faith: Maternality and Management Chapter Three: Writing for Your Life: Refuge and Precarity Chapter Four: Collaborations: Engendering Literary Identities Chapter Five: Kinship: "Amateurs" of Nature and Imitation Conclusion: Early Modern Lexicons: Gendered Communities and Social Justice Selected Readings Index