Putting Women in their Place: Contributions to a Portuguese Historiography of Geography (1955 to 1974)

This thesis examines the relationship between gender and the production of geographical
knowledge. It provides a critical analysis of women’s positions within Portuguese Geography
from 1955 to 1974, a time when Salazar’s dictatorship sought to impose severe restrictions on
women’s horizons.
The originality of this work relies not only on the time frame under scrutiny but also in
the fact that a work of this kind has never previously been attempted. In the Portuguese
geographical context, contrary to its Anglo-American counterpart, feminist historiography is
not a well-established field. As such, this study not only intends to incorporate women into the
history of the discipline, making it more inclusive, but also to contribute to a growing interest
and expansion of the field in Portugal.
This study addresses the history of the discipline, questions of gender, patriarchy and
women’s positionality through the lenses of critical postcolonial and feminist geographies. It
establishes the need to introduce feminist perspectives into scholarship and teaching about
histories of geographical knowledge. It contributes to a new chapter in the history of Portuguese
Geography and a larger awareness of other voices in the geographical panorama.