Research areas

Dr Simonton's main research interests are early modern and modern European women’s history, particularly issues of work, education and childhood in the eighteenth century and the development of women’s cultural identity. She is currently working ona major study of gender in eighteenth-century European towns. This research project is situated at the convergence of three specific historiographies. The first is ‘traditional’ urban history, which often studies towns from institutional, geographic and macro-economic viewpoints. The second is research on politeness and sociability in the 18th century. The third draws on a group of scholars, spearheaded by Dr Simonton, which aims to insert gender formation into our understanding of European towns. This latter group is working on the dynamics of political culture, the urban economy and ideological and physical spaces of the town. Funded by the Danish Research Council, this network 'Gender in the European Town', is planning a number of presentatins at major conferences and several co-authored and edited publications. More information on the network is elsewhere on this site.

Tasks

Associate Professor for British History, teaching history within both History and English Studies.

CV

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SHORT CURRICULUM VITAE
Deborah Leigh Simonton, BA, MA, PhD, FRHistS
Nationality: British
e mail: dsimonton@language.sdu.dk

Education and Qualifications
Ph.D. (7 December 1988) University of Essex
M.A. (16 September 1971) Arizona State University. British and European History
B.A. with Distinction (2 June 1970) Arizona State University, History major, Politics minor

Honours
Elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (UK), December 2010,
Elected to Phi Alpha Theta, National Honor Society in History, March 1969
Elected to Alpha Lambda Delta, National Women’s Scholastic Honor Society, Spring 1967

Current Research interests and activities
Research interests are early modern and modern European women’s history, particularly issues of work, education and childhood in the eighteenth century and the development of women’s cultural identity. Currently working on gender in eighteenth-century European towns.

Leader, Research Network, Gender and the European Town, Early Modern to Modern, involving c25 partners from across Europe and the USA.

Employment
From 2004 Associate Professor of British History, University of Southern Denmark; Responsible for history teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels within English Studies and History Departments.

1991-2004 Lifelong Learning Co-ordinator, Honorary Senior Lecturer in History and Women’s Studies, University of Aberdeen.

1985-1990 Lecturer in History, Hillcroft College, Surbiton, Surrey (Lecturer Grade A, promoted to Grade B, October 1987); Curriculum Co-ordinator of interdisciplinary higher education programme and deputised for Principal.

1982-85 History Lecturer, Sutton Coldfield College of Further Education, half-time.Teaching social, economic and political history; devised and taught History module in Access to B. Ed. degree course.

1980-82 Lecturer in Sociology, Crawley College of Technology, part-time.

1975-79 Head of Political and Social Studies, Whitefield School, London Borough of Barnet. Appointed at Grade 2, promoted to Grade 3, September 1977.

1972-75 Library Assistant, US Government Documents Service, Arizona State University. Provided research assistance and lectures on US documents.

1971-72 History Lecturer, part-time, Phoenix College, Phoenix, Arizona. (1.5 years) Full responsibility for higher education Western Civilization courses.

1970-72 Teaching Assistant, Department of History, Arizona State University.

Current Professional Activities
Expert reviewer for Swedish Academy, Linnaeus grants (large project grants)
External Assessor for History Appointment, University of Copenhagen
Internal Examiner for History in English Studies, University of Southern Denmark, since 2004
External Examiner for History, Bath Spa University, 2003-2007
Affiliated to Women’s History network in Denmark, since 2004
Women’s History Scotland Convenor (1998-2004) and Committee member, 1998-present
Women’s History Network (UK) Steering Committee, 1998-2003, currently member of Network

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Editing
Lead Editor, Women’s History Magazine, ISSN 1476-6760, launched 15 February 2002—on-going.

Books
Women in European Culture and Society, Gender, Skill and Identity from 1700. Routledge, 2011 (ISBN 0-415-21307-X).

Routledge History of Women in Modern Europe, 1700 to the present, editor. London: Routledge, 2006 (ISBN 0-415-30103-3), 397pp. (paperback edition, with revisions 2007).

Gender and Scottish History, 1700 to the present, editor with Lynn Abrams, Eleanor Gordon and Eileen Yeo. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006 (ISBN 0-7486-1760-4), 280pp.

Gendering Scottish History: An International Perspective, editor with Terry Brotherstone and Oonagh Walsh. Glasgow: Cruithne Press, 1999, (ISBN 1-873448-16-3), 280pp.

A History of European Women’s Work, 1700 to the present. London: Routledge, 1998 (ISBN 0-415-05532-6), 337pp.

Women and Higher Education, Past, Present and Future, editor with Mary R. Masson. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1996 (ISBN 1-85752-260-5), 344pp.

Articles and Chapters
‘”Birds of Passage” or “Career” Women? —Thoughts on the lifecycle of the European Servant,’ Women’s History Review, 20, 2 (Spring 2011), 207-25.

‘Children and the Economy,’ In James Marten and Elizabeth Foyster, eds, Vol. 4. A Cultural History of Childhood and the Family in the Age of Enlightenment, (1650-1800) of A Cultural History of Childhood and the Family, 6 vols. Berg Publishers, 2010 (ISBN 978-1-84788-797-9), pp. 49-68.

‘Gender’ in Peter Wilson, ed. Blackwell Companion to Eighteenth-century Europe, Oxford: Blackwells Publishers, 2008, pp.27-46. ISBN 978-1-4051-3947-2

‘”Even some Ladies Talk with Facility about Oxygen”, Education for Women in Britain, 1700-1850”, Women’s History Magazine, Autumn 2007, pp. 11-15. ISSN 1476-6760

‘Women and Education,’ in Elaine Chalus and Hannah Barker, eds, Women’s History, 1700-1850. London: Routledge, 2005, pp. 33-56. ISBN 0-415-29177-1

‘Claiming their Place in the Corporate Community: Women’s Identity in Eighteenth-century Towns,’ in Isabelle Baudino, Jacques Carré, Cecile Révauger, eds, The Invisible Woman, Aspects of Women’s Work in Eighteenth-century Britain. London: Ashgate, 2005, pp. 101-116. ISBN 0-7546-3572-4

‘Bringing up girls: work in pre-industrial Europe,’ in Christina Benninghaus, Mary Jo Maynes and Brigitte Söland, eds, Secret Gardens, Satanic Mills: Placing Girls in Modern European History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004, pp. 23-37. ISBN 0-253-21710-5

‘Earning and Learning: Girlhood in Pre-Industrial Europe,’ Women’s History Review, 13, 3, (2004), pp. 363-86. ISSN 0961-2025

‘Gender, Identity and Independence: Eighteenth-Century Women in the Commercial World,’ Women’s History Magazine, 42 (Autumn 2002), pp. 2-8. ISSN 1476-6760.

‘Nursing History as Women’s History,’ International History of Nursing Journal, 6, 1 (2001) pp. 35-47. ISSN: 1360-1105

‘Schooling the Poor: Gender and Class in Eighteenth-century England,’ British Journal for Eighteenth-century Studies, Vol. 23, Autumn, 2000, pp. 183-202. ISSN 1754-0194

‘Gendering labour in eighteenth-century towns,’ in Margaret Walsh, ed., Working out Gender, Society for the Study of Labour History. London: Ashgate Press, 1999, pp. 29-47. (ISBN 0-7546-0058-0).

‘Apprenticeship: Training and Gender in Eighteenth-century England’ in Maxine Berg, ed. Markets and Manufactures in Early Industrial Europe. London: Routledge, 1991, pp. 227-58 (ISBN 0-415-03720-4).

Affiliations

• Engelskstudiet, Kolding - Associate Professor
• The History Programme in Kolding - Associate Professor

Publications

Activities