The Ascent of Woman

Series 1

Biographer and historian Dr. Amanda Foreman presents a landmark four-part BBC Two series on the history of women from the dawn of civilization to the modern day. This ambitious series sets out to redress a significant imbalance in global history, exploring the extraordinary and often overlooked role that women have played in the forging of the modern world.

Where to Watch The Ascent of Woman • Series 1

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4 Episodes

Civilisation
E1
CivilisationAmanda looks at the nomadic worlds of the Eurasian Steppes and the early civilisations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome as she finds out how early civilisations dealt with the roles and status of women.
Separation
E2
SeparationCovering a period from the 1st century AD to the present day, Amanda looks at how Asian ideals of feminine virtue and the division of space between the female world of the home and male world of business and politics became a hallmark of Chinese identity. Part of yin and yang, they have cast a long shadow across women’s lives - not just in China, but across Asia.
Power
E3
PowerDr. Amanda Foreman travels to Istanbul, Germany, Paris and Delhi to explore the stories of women behind some of the most powerful empires of the Middle Ages. From 6th century Byzantium to Medieval Europe, the Ottoman Court to the Mughal Empire, Amanda looks behind the male dominated perceptions of these empires to reveal the strength of women at the heart of power and influence.
Revolution
E4
RevolutionIn this final episode, Dr. Amanda Foreman looks at the role of women in revolutions that have transformed the modern world: from political uprisings to reproductive rights. Amanda discovers through women like campaigner and writer Olympe De Gouges that the French Revolution’s promise of equality, liberty and brotherhood would be limited to men; Bolshevik radical Alexandra Kollontai would find that while her fellow Russian Revolutionaries may have put women’s rights at the forefront of ideological change, the post-revolutionary world would be as rife with gender bias as the societies they’d helped transform.