By Susan Carlile and Karenza Sutton-Bennett
These discussion prompts can be used for either in-class discussions or for online discussion posts. The prompts are catered to the course reader extracts from the magazine. However, several of the prompts can be applied to the magazine en masse.
1) What do we gather about the Trifler persona and what is the function of this eidolon?
2) How do the Trifler essays portray women’s circumstances in mid-eighteenth-century London?
3) What can we learn from the contrary educations of Sophia and Harriot?
4) How does the magazine argue that natural philosophy and history as necessary topics for women to study?
5) How do Original Inhabitants, Lady’s Geography, and The Princess Padmani speak to each other about the English and their relationship to/ideas about the people and cultures of other countries?
6) How do the images in the Lady’s Museum enhance the lessons in the articles?