With introductory essays by historians, Framing Our Past emphasizes the lived experiences of women: their participation in many areas of social life, such as social rituals with other women; organized sporting clubs; philanthropic, spiritual and aesthetic activities; study and reading groups. The authors then focus on women's roles as nurturers and keepers of the hearth B their experiences with family management, child care, and health concerns. They consider women's varied contributions within formal and informal educational systems as well as their instrumental political role in consumer activism, social work, peace movements, and royal commissions. Canadian women's shaping of health care and science through nursing, physiotherapy and research are discussed, as is women's work, from domestic labour to dressmaking to broadcasting to banking.

Using diary accounts, oral history, letters, organizational records, paintings, quilts, dressmaking patterns, milliners' records, posters, Framing our Past offers a unique opportunity to share what is rarely if ever seen, offering insights into the preservation and interpretation of historical sources.

Sharon Anne Cook is Distinguished University Professor Emerita at the University of Ottawa. She is the author and editor of twelve books on Canadian women’s history. The recipient of many teaching awards, she teaches graduate courses in the history of education. She lives in Ottawa.

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Lorna McLean is assistant professor, education, University of Ottawa

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Kate O’Rourke is an archivist, Special Collections, Archives of Ontario.

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