"Stepping up to the Call:" A Historiographical Analysis of Gender in 1930s Soviet Russia

Abstract

In 1986 Joan Scott published “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” an article examining the disconnect between the way in which gender is explored within the scholarship and gender history itself. In her work Scott operationalized gender as a framework. Utilizing Scott's framework, this historiographical analysis explores the question of gender as an analytical tool within the scholarship on 1930s Soviet Russia. Works produced prior to and post Scott's “calling” are categorized based upon a gender-based spectrum. Works are categorized as being: descriptive history exploring women; women’s history; beyond women’s history but short of gender history; and gender history. Situating the scholarship of 1930s Soviet Russia alongside Scott's conception of gender history allows for exploration of the evolution of gender- as an analytical tool utilized in the scholarship. Contrasting Scott's conception with scholars' usage of gender alludes to why gender, as a lens, is often overlooked.