Talk:Jane Sharp

Biography Draft
I have chosen to focus on Jane Sharp for an assignment in my history of science class. My goal will be to greatly improve on this article and provide more in-depth material. I anticipate my biography of her to solidify even more with further research.


 * Jane Sharp was a midwife in the 17th century. She published the first well-known textbook on midwifery, "The Midwives Book: or the Whole Art of Midwifery Discovered," in 1671. Her personal life is largely unknown, but she describes herself as a ‘practitioner in the art of midwifery above thirty years’ in the preface to her book. It is assumed she came from London, even though there are no records of her practices there, while other speculation suggests western-England (Moscucci). Regardless, her book proves that she was very influential.
 * Readers can see glimpses of Sharp's personality and views through her writing. In her book of Midwifery, she expresses dismay with the fact that it is difficult for women to gain access to university education, lectures, and specialized texts. Due to this, Sharp provides detailed documents and diagrams of the female anatomy in her book and encouraged women to learn all they could about the necessities of health during pregnancy, birthing, and beyond (Sharp). Sharp also displays a great deal of praise for feminine sexuality and marvels at the female's reproductive system as a "gift from God," unlike most male writers of her time. In addition, Sharp believes that "Midwifery should stay in the hands of women." She argues that, although men have greater access to education, they lack practical experience. Her book truly demonstrates Sharp's innovative feminist stances and a caring nature for all living things (Bosanquet).

works used:
 * Anna Bosanquet's A portfolio publication on Jane Sharp
 * Jane Sharp's The Midwifes book (1671)
 * Ornella Moscucci's oxford article

Triforce.Cat (talk)


 * Hi all, I've added an updated Life section that elaborates on the biographical information provided by Triforce.cat. Discussion welcome!Pthomas4 (talk) 19:05, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

A brief summary and plans
A summary for what I plan to expand on for this article includes providing more in depth information on Jane Sharp's book, including excerpts, as well as hopefully providing insight to her own thought processes and values. I plan to provide more background information that might help others understand the significance of her actions for her time, and what her accomplishments did for society. I also aim to find as much background information on Sharp, herself, as possible.

Triforce.Cat (talk)

Peer Review
After reviewing the article it appears there have been very little to no edits made to it. I did read the summary of the edits planned to be made in history. I think there needs to be more of a back story written about Jane Sharp. I would like to know a little more about her early life, and more about her later life. Adding some more sections and organization would help a lot. Adding a section specifically for her accomplishments and works would be something to think about.

Maybe if information isn't available about her personal life then just give a little background to give an idea about who you are reading about. What is written above about Jane is great but needs more. Go into her work a little more. So far what you have in the talk page is good, just get it out on the page and add some more, also add maybe a picture or two. Hope this helps. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jcoroiu (talk • contribs) 01:49, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

Peer Review
Triforce.Cat when you get around to doing your edits to this page, adding some pictures would be very helpful. The person above I think has some really good ideas to expand on, but really at this point just getting some length added to the page is crucial. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bran4232 (talk • contribs) 02:53, 31 March 2014 (UTC)

Bibliography Notes
Introduction. The Midwives Book: Or the Whole Art of Midwifery Discovered. By Jane Sharp. 1999. New York: Oxford University Press. Print.

Hallwarth, Jennifer Wynne. "'I Wyl Wright Of Women Prevy Sekenes': Imagining Female Literacy And Textual Communities In Medieval And Early Modern Midwifery Manuals." Critical Survey 14.1 (2002): 44. Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 May 2014. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Maagicalme (talk • contribs) 00:10, 28 May 2014 (UTC)

Hobby, Elaine. "'Secrets of the Female Sex': Jane Sharp, the Reproductive Female Body, and Early Modern Midwifery Manuals." Women's Writing. 8.2: 201-212. Web.

Maagicalme (talk) 04:28, 27 May 2014 (UTC)


 * These are both good sources. To find more sources, you might look at the talk page for the sources listed in the first post by Triforce.cat.  Good luck, Kirwanfan (talk) 19:56, 27 May 2014 (UTC)

I wonder if the following sources might be relevant in discussing the impact of Sharp's work as a writer in Early Modern England? "Swaddling England: How Jane Sharp’s Midwives Book Shaped the Body of Early Modern Reproductive Tradition" by Catherine Morphis, Early Modern Studies Journal, 2014.

"Figuring Pictures and Picturing Figures: Images of the Pregnant Body and the Unborn Child in England, 1540–c.1680" Social History of Medicine, 2017. Pthomas4 (talk) 18:06, 21 April 2020 (UTC)

Peer Review
According to the history of the page it seems you haven't added any bytes. I didn't see anything in your sandbox either so I'm not sure what you have mapped out for the page just yet. However, I think there is a lot of information that can be expanded here.

It states that her book is separated into six parts. I think if you have enough of a breakdown you could make six different headers to discuss each one. Depending on whether you got her book in time you could easily meet your 5000 byte requirement off that. Also, using what we've discussed in class you could give a brief history on how males were taking the midwives job markets from them. That should help with the byte count as well. Hope that helps.

Nickeckenrode (talk) 03:41, 4 June 2014 (UTC)

Updates to the biographical info
I've made some significant updates to both the biography and description of Sharp's Midwives Book. I've been working on a draft in my sandbox, and welcome any feedback on the updates. Pthomas4 (talk) 19:27, 26 May 2020 (UTC)