Women in World War II

Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(246)

This 5-session class looks the contributions and experience of women in WW2 with the fighting and the homefront from the US, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and other nations.

Class Experience

US Grade 7 - 10

Our history of wars often focus solely on men (as leaders, generals, and the bulk of the army).  World War 2 saw a significant role for women in many different roles--on the front line, in key support roles, in sabotage, and in production.  And due to the nature of the war, women's experience as victims (from the Holocaust to the Comfort Women) were profound and dissimilar at times from what males experienced.  This class will look at the experiences, contributions, and service of women from...

Students will learn:
1.  The diverse contributions and experiences of women in WW2 across many nations.
2.  How the nation shaped the experience of women in the war (ie: the roles and experience varied in great part with the culture of the nation they were from).
3.  To what extent these new roles and experiences continued after the war or were quickly pushed back in to pre-war traditional roles.

I teach extensively on Outschool on a range of history and social studies courses.  I've taught at multiple Universities as well as worked with elementary, middle-school, and high-school learners in a class setting.

Each learner will be assigned the name of a woman who played a role in the war (such as Violette Szabo or Marina Raskova) to research and then do an oral report to the rest of the class.

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Participation and frequent knowledge checks.

4 hours 35 minutes per week in class, and maybe some time outside of class.

First, this class discusses a world war--it's violent and bloody.  Second, there are some specific topics that we will cover that are grim:  the Comfort Women, the rape of German women with the fall of Berlin, the treatment of US nurses as POWs, and women in the Holocaust.

As we cover specific topics, I'll provide references (historically accurate movies and books) relevant to that session (such as: Code Girls, or The Land Girls).

Available times

Pacific

Table of available sections

Meet the teacher

Joe Willmore

Average rating:4.9Number of reviews:(246)

I was an instructor at George Mason University, University of Massachusetts, and University of Virginia.  I've coached High School Debate (we finished 2nd in the country at NFL).  I've coached youth soccer (including multiple all-star teams). ...