eCommons

 

Watchful Weighing: The Body Politics of Home Economics 1920-1950

dc.contributor.authorMoran, Rachel
dc.date.accessioned2011-07-08T19:02:03Z
dc.date.available2011-07-08T19:02:03Z
dc.date.issued2011-03-03
dc.descriptionRachel Louise Moran was the 2010 recipient of the College of Human Ecology Fellowship in the History of Home Economics.She is currently the Crawford Fellow in Ethical Inquiry at the Pennsylvania State University, where she is finishing her dual PhD in History and Women’s Studies.en_US
dc.description.abstractNot long after the turn of the century, home economists, physicians, and public health workers made the height-weight chart into a household term. Historian Rachel Moran examines the spread of tables in schools, agricultural extension programs, and home economics curriculum. By the early 1920s, experts were debating the balance between the benefits and dangers of height-weight charts, and questioning the charts that many of them had helped popularize. Moran argues that the charts ultimately survived intense expert criticism only because lay-women had become such firm advocates of their use. The talk considers the relationship between female lay-citizens and experts, as well as the political power of statistics in early 20th century U.S. government. It also raises questions about the use and critique of contemporary physical measurements, especially Body Mass Index.en_US
dc.description.viewer1_xw011t8hen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1813/23134
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.subjectCollege of Human Ecology Fellowshipen_US
dc.subjectNew York State College of Home Economicsen_US
dc.subjectNew York State College of Human Ecologyen_US
dc.subjectBody Mass Indexen_US
dc.subjectObesityen_US
dc.titleWatchful Weighing: The Body Politics of Home Economics 1920-1950en_US
dc.typepresentationen_US
dc.typevideo/moving imageen_US
schema.accessibilityFeaturecaptions

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
SpecialLecture-03-03-2011.m4v
Size:
136.44 MB
Format:
iTunes Video
Description:
Download Podcast