Question: Remember how, as we were making modern connections with Wollstonecraft, and how she described that, in being educated, women of the eighteenth century (and their subsequent generations, I assume) would become more productive members of society?
Well, I ironically wrote about basically-the-same-thing for my Chinese final paper. I chose "Chinese women's education," and the research I found asserted that exact thing: that, with compulsory higher education for Chinese women (who have lived through quite an oppressive history), they would be able to lead fuller and more productive lives as participating members of society. Ma Wanhua, for example, is a professor at Peking University, and has written at length on the topic of higher education in China. It's funny how Wollstonecraft's thoughts are so relevant, not just in the West, even, but in the East today too.
The only qualm I have would be to ask exactly how women (eighteenth century, Chinese, or what have you) are going to contribute more to society. In other words, what does the phrase "contribute to society" actually mean for these women? And then, what if other things continue to stand in their way? I guess I might say that education for women, at any point in time, is one step towards a higher goal.
