The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of

Question

The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of the nineteenth century, including history's transformation from a literary genre to a scientific discipline, had important consequences not only for historians' perceptions of women but also for women as historians. The disappearance of women as objects of historical studies during this period has  elements of irony  to it. On the one hand, in writing about women, earlier historians had relied not on firsthand sources but rather on secondary sources; the shift to more rigorous research methods required that secondary sources be disregarded. On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant: historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing. Because women were seen as belonging to the private rather than to the public sphere, the discovery of documents about them, or by them, did not, by itself, produce history acknowledging the contributions of women. In addition, genres such as biography and memoir, those forms of "particular history" that women had traditionally authored, fell into disrepute. The dividing line between "particular history" and general history was redefined in stronger terms, widening the gulf between amateur and professional practices of historical research.    1  
 1. The passage is primarily concerned with

(A) describing some effects of the professionalization of the study of history on the writing of women's history
(B) explaining some reasons for the professionalization of the writing of history
(C) discussing the kinds of historical writing traditionally practiced by women
(D) contrasting the approach to the writing of history taken by women with the approach taken by men
(E) criticizing certain changes that occurred in the writing of history during the second half of the nineteenth century

2  
 2. Which of the following best describes one of the " elements of irony " referred to in the highlighted text?

(A) Although the more scientific-minded historians of the second half of the nineteenth century considered women appropriate subjects for historical writing, earlier historians did not.
(B) Although archival research uncovered documentary evidence of women's role in history, historians continued to rely on secondary sources for information about women.
(C) Although historians were primarily concerned with writing about the public sphere, they generally relegated women to the private sphere.
(D) The scientific approach to history revealed more information about women, but that information was ignored.
(E) The professionalization of history, while marginalizing much of women's writing about history, enhanced the importance of women as historical subjects.

3 
 3. According to the passage, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents had which of the following effects?

(A) Historians increasingly acknowledged women's contributions to history.
(B) Historians began to debate whether secondary sources could provide reliable information.
(C) Historians began to apply less rigorous scientific research criteria to the study of women's history.
(D) More evidence concerning women became available to historical researchers.
(E) Women began to study history as professional historians.

Juz2play · Accepted Answer

I hope this helps.

The topic sentence/ main idea of this passage is on the first line of the passage.
"The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of the nineteenth century, including history's transformation from a literary genre to a scientific discipline, had important consequences not only for historians' perceptions of women but also for women as historians." So, only choice (A) matches the purpose of this passage.

Here are some tips when you are doing RC section. Read the passage within two minutes scope and try to identify the topic sentence/ purpose of each passage and body paragraph. By asking yourself these questions, you will read the passage more actively and increase the chance of answering questions correctly. ^ ^

Skywalker18 · Answer

7 mins 30 seconds , including 2 mins 50 seconds to read

-The author does not provide an opinion
-The author talks about how the professionalization of women’s history has changed the way that history has been written
- Certain discoveries were passed off as irrelevant or ignored because they relegated women to the domestic sphere

1.
Answer A

2.
“On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women, yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant"

The above excerpt clearly states that the information revealed thanks to the scientific approach was ignored – which contradicts the whole purpose of the scientific approach. Hence the irony. Option (D) is the correct answer.

3.

“On the other hand, the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women"
Option (D) is a clear re instatement of the above and hence correct.

GMATNinja · Answer

Passage breakdown 
In passages that are one, long paragraph, it can be helpful to split the passage up. In this explanation, the passage will be split into three sections:

Section 1: from the start to “...also for women as historians.” 
 Section 2: from “The disappearance of women as objects…” to “...framework for historical writing.” 
 Section 3: from “Because women were seen as…” to the end of the passage.

In the first section, the author:

Introduces a change: the professionalization of the study of history.  
 States that this change had important implications for women.

In the second section, the author:

Gives an opinion: that women disappearing as objects of study during this period is ironic. 
 Presents two apparently contradictory pieces of evidence to support this position.

In the third section, the author:

Provides two reasons that account for women's diminishing role as historians during this period.

For more on this process, check out  this article  and  our live RC videos .

Explanations for individual questions 
 
 Question 1
 
  Part 1  
  Part 2    
  Question 2  
 Question 3
 
  Part 1  
  Part 2

TooLong150 · Answer

Explanation for elements of irony question: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ed-dating/

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 2

Remember to use process of elimination on ALL GMAT verbal questions:

The passage describes the " disappearance  of women as objects of historical studies during this period". Choice (A) suggests the opposite, so it can be eliminated.

The passage specifically states that "the shift to more rigorous research methods  required that secondary sources be disregarded ." Choice (B) directly contradicts this information and be eliminated.

This seems in line with the information in the passage, but does it describe "elements of irony"? If women belong to the private sphere and historians are primarily focused on the public sphere, we would EXPECT a disappearance of women as objects of historical studies. There is nothing inconsistent or contradictory about that result, but leave choice (C) for now if you aren't sure.

The new approach revealed more information about women.. great! Oh wait, that new approach also means that we are going to IGNORE much of the additional information. The same approach that helped us GATHER the new information also tells us that we should IGNORE that same information.

We would expect an approach that reveals more information about women to INCREASE historical studies of women. But that same approach caused historians to ignore the very information they discovered. This surprising and seemingly contradictory result (much like a discrepancy) has "elements of irony", unlike the facts stated in choice (C). (D) seems like the best answer so far.

As stated for choice (A), the passage describes the " disappearance  of women as objects of historical studies during this period". This implies that the importance of women as historical subjects was not ENHANCED during this period, so (E) can be eliminated.

Choice (D) is the best answer.

hassu13 · Answer

GMATNinja   GMATNinja two  mikemcgarry 
For the primary purpose question, can you pl explain how th answer is A and not E.
Is it very clear from the passage that the author has not presented his view. Hence criticising is not correct.

hassu13 · Answer

For question#3, I have a doubt as to how option b is incorrect. In the passage just above the place where archival methods are mentioned. It has been mentioned that the secondary sources were disregarded. Also, is D right because the researchers did recieve the evidence but the phenomenon of ignoring the evidence happened at later stage. Hence no one can deny the fact that more evidence was indeed available

GMATNinja · Answer

For question #1, I'm not quite sure that I understand your doubt, but I'll give it a shot!

You've correctly identified that the author definitely isn't writing this passage to "criticize." And that's exactly why we must eliminate (E). It doesn't accurately describe what the passage does as a whole.

You can answer this question solely through process of elimination. But (A) remains the best answer choice because it's a precise match for why and how the author wrote this passage. Throughout the passage, the author focuses on the  consequences  of professionalization of the study of history -- specifically with regards to historians' perception of women and for women as historians. The author brings up multiple methods and perspectives to describe how this one large change impacted different aspects of women in the academic field of history.

On question #3, we are asked which choice was an  effect  of  the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents .

The correct answer choice will identify some outcome that happened  as a result of  those two things.

Going back to the passage:

On the other hand, the  development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents   began to reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women , yet this evidence was perceived as substantially irrelevant: historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing.

This pretty clearly states what we're looking for. The result was that significant new historical evidence concerning women was revealed.

Choice (B) bears absolutely no resemblance to what we've just confirmed in the passage. Even if something like this is mentioned somewhere else in the passage, or somewhere in proximity of the phrase "archival," we were not asked to find things that appear in the passage. We must identify the choice that names a result of the development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents.

Furthermore, we don't eliminate answer choices because they don't appear in the passage. We eliminate answer choices because  they are not the best choice for the answer that we were specifically asked.

Bingo! Er, eureka! This is a spot-on match for how the passage itself would answer the question.

I hope this helps!

LoneSurvivor · Answer

Author says that the professionalization has irony of elements ,does that not mean that the author is criticising ?

In thre primary purpose question should not the answer be E? Is author merely describing or giving his own opinion also by saying that professionalization has irony of elements

GMATNinja · Answer

By stating that the professionalization of history contained some "elements of irony," the author is not necessarily criticizing this development -- he/she is merely pointing out that the changes had some surprising and potentially contradictory effects. In addition, it is important to look at the exact language of the answer choice:
 
The passage is not " primarily  concerned" with changes that occurred in the   writing   of history in this time period. Instead, he/she discusses the "professionalization of the   study   of history in the second half of the nineteenth century," and then describes how this shift impacted the writing of women's history. The specific changes listed -- the use of primary instead of secondary documents, and the less favorable perception of memoir and biography -- are changes in the study of history, not in the writing of history.

This aligns much better with answer choice (A):
 
(A) is the correct answer to question #1.

I hope that helps!

zoezhuyan · Answer

SajjadAhmad ,  u1983 ,  GMATNinja ,  GMATNinjaTwo ,  workout ,  Gnpth 
but why not A for Q3.

On the other hand, the  development of archival research and the critical editing of collections of documents   began to  reveal significant new historical evidence concerning women  , yet this evidence was perceived as substantially  irrelevant : historians saw political history as the general framework for historical writing. 
regarding "yet this evidence was perceived as substantially   irrelevant ", I think it would provide some actually relevant evidence, so it obviously provide new knowledge . that's why I prefer A over D.

experts, please help.

GMATNinja · Answer

While I agree that the new approach to history provided additional knowledge concerning women, that's not exactly what (A) is saying:
 
(A) tells us that historians " increasingly acknowledged women's contributions  to history" -- or, that historians increasingly believed that women played an important role in history.

However, the passage indicates something quite different -- historians found all of this new evidence concerning women, but then dismissed it as "substantially irrelevant." So, even though they had more knowledge about women, they did not think that women played an important role in history.

For this reason, (A) is not the correct answer to question #3.

I hope that helps!

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

The professionalization of the study of history in the second half of

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards