A Companion to Gender History surveys the history of women around the world, studies their interaction with men in gendered societies, and looks at the role of gender in shaping human behavior over thousands of years. * An extensive survey of the history of women around the world, their interaction with men, and the role of gender in shaping human behavior over thousands of years. * Discusses family history, the history of the body and sexuality, and cultural history alongside women's history and gender history. * Considers the importance of class, region, ethnicity, race and religion to the formation of gendered societies. * Contains both thematic essays and chronological-geographic essays. * Gives due weight to pre-history and the pre-modern era as well as to the modern era. * Written by scholars from across the English-speaking world and scholars for whom English is not their first language.