Jane Hugo: biography and literary contributions

Hugo

Is the question of "historical visibility" important today?

According to Hugo, visibility is "historians recognition and interpretation of ideas, individuals, events, and groups" (2). The author goes on to explain that visibility is a problem that has not only affected women, but has also affected other minorities such as African-Americans. Hugo proves her point that historians have given women little visibility because the primary researchers in adult education have historically failed to "single out" many women as "contributors to adult education in America" (3). Furthermore, she suggests that limited visibility is a problem to women and minorities because these groups often see events differently, and refusing to acknowledge their interpretation of an event does not give a full scheme of perspective.

Thus, visibility is as much of a problem today as it has been in the past. This is true for several reasons. First, visibility is a problem today because Hugo asks, "What would a history of adult education in America look like if it were based on women's experiences.... (Hugo 6). Unless more works like Hugo's make women's contributions mainstream, this problem will still exist. Many will still not be aware of women's interpretation of the history of adult education. Furthermore, Hugo points out that researchers today need to acknowledge the invisibility of women and "ask new questions that focus attention on a property of the everyday world surrounding women and men in education -- gender" and gender roles (11). Second, visibility is still a problem in that editors of mainstream journals still choose what they think to be primary issues of concern to those interested in adult education. Thus, the opportunity for visibility issues still exists based on the editors' current biases.

What, if anything, can be learned from examining this historical issue.

The marginalization of women in history is a theme that has affected many disciplines, from education to the workforce. Hugo's article regarding the invisibility of women due to male dominated adult education historical writers allows readers to learn quite a bit, both about the history of adult education and also about the treatment of women in American society. First, the article suggests that the history of adult education may not be accurately interpreted. Because women often interpret events differently than men, the current history simply gives a majority opinion. Many important events and issues that women saw as paramount were not addressed in the current histories. Thus, this article can serve as a warning to current researchers that they should not buy the current history of adult education as fact, but realize certain viewpoints are not addressed. Furthermore, researchers can learn how to correctly address the issue in subsequent leadership. Hugo states, "those interested in history need to understand better the gender dynamics at work in the field and the mechanisms that support those dynamics" (2). Based on this statement, the reader can understand that the invisibility of women in the past has implications for the future of adult education.