The Ascent of Woman

The Ascent of Woman (2015)

EndedDocumentary showHistory

Dr Amanda Foreman uncovers stories of women that have made and changed human history from 10,000 BC to the present day.

Network
Scheduleevery Wednesday at 21:00 (60 min)

Last Episode

Revolution
Season 1Episode 460 min

Revolution

In this final film, 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.

In the end, revolutionary change for women would come from within the private sphere - in America, with activists like Margaret Sanger, who coined the term birth control and developed the pill which would finally give women control over when to have children. Amanda discusses the experiences of women in contemporary uprisings - in what's been called the Arab spring, when women defied cultural and political traditions, marched into public squares and called for change, only to find that once they demanded rights for women, they were denied them. Amanda discusses the growth of grass roots women's movements in Africa, like those in Liberia and Malawi, and interviews African women involved in democratic politics - Lindiwe Mazibuko, the South African leader of the opposition and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women. Amanda finishes the series with a bold statement - she believes the most critical issue of the 21st century is to address the inclusion of women, to break from the past and create a new model for social revolution - one of gender equality.

Sep 23, 2015

Recent Episodes

EpisodeNameAirdate
S01E04RevolutionSep 23, 2015
S01E03PowerSep 16, 2015
S01E02SeparationSep 9, 2015
S01E01CivilisationSep 2, 2015
View all episodesView all seasons

Cast

Amanda Foreman

Amanda Foreman

plays herself
View all cast

Characters

Presenter

Presenter

played by Amanda Foreman
View all characters

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Ancient Aliens
Running

Ancient Aliens

Ancient Aliens explores the controversial theory that extraterrestrials have visited Earth for millions of years. From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode in this hit History series gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate. Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago?

Criminal Minds
Running

Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds revolves around an elite team of FBI profilers who analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again.

GenreDrama, Crime, Thriller
Survivor
Running

Survivor

Eighteen to twenty castaways will compete against each other on Survivor. All castaways will compete to outwit, outplay, outlast and ultimately be crowned Sole Survivor.

GenreAdventure
Lioness
Running

Lioness

Lioness, inspired by an actual U.S. Military program, follows the life of Joe while she attempts to balance her personal and professional life as the tip of the CIA's spear in the war on terror. The Lioness Program, overseen by Kaitlyn Meade and Donald Westfield, enlists an aggressive Marine Raider named Cruz to operate undercover alongside Joe among the power brokers of State terrorism in the CIA's efforts to thwart the next 9/11.

GenreDrama, Thriller, Espionage
Doc
Running

Doc

Doc centers on the hard-charging, brilliant Dr. Amy Larsen, Chief of Internal and Family Medicine at Westside Hospital in Minneapolis. After a brain injury erases the last eight years of her life, Amy must navigate an unfamiliar world where she has no recollection of patients she's treated, colleagues she's crossed, the soulmate she divorced, the man she now loves and the tragedy that caused her to push everyone away. She can rely only on her estranged 17-year-old daughter, whom she remembers as a 9-year-old, and a handful of devoted friends, as she struggles to continue practicing medicine, despite having lost nearly a decade of knowledge and experience.

GenreDrama, Medical
* This is an affiliate link. If you click and purchase, we will receive a commission from the provider. This will not incur any additional costs for you and you will support our project. We thank you for your support!