Women and diplomatic life: an overview with methodological directions and proposals

Abstract

This chapter has two primary objectives. First, I will offer a systematic reviewof the academic literature on the paths of women who circulated in variousdiplomatic circles throughout history. In particular, I will focus on publica-tions from the last two decades that have endeavoured to renew the study ofdiplomatic history in several different fields, including cultural history, politi-cal history, women’s history, and (to a lesser extent) the branch of interna-tional relations related to gender. In the hopes of contextualising a diversebody of work that has been produced in parallel disciplines that do not al-ways intersect, I have limited my focus to three broad geographic regions:Western Europe, English-speaking North America, and Latin America. Basedon my readings and reflections, I will offer a potential reading list for futurestudy on this topic. Secondly, I will draw on experiences from the research Ihave conducted in recent years to propose a series of profiles that can help usstudy the lives of Latin American women in the nineteenth century and theperiod leading up to the First World War. I will also offer a few methodologi-cal reflections for studies on these women. I hope that this text will be, inpart, an invitation to broaden these lines of inquiry and incorporate otherparts of the world and other profiles that will enrich our understanding of women’s role in diplomacy.