Hillary Clinton and the roots of women in leadership roles

This doesn't apply directly to the focus of our class, but I think many of you might find this interesting. In a recent discussion with a friend I was reminded that my advisor, Scripps English professor John Peavoy, was a pen pal to Hillary Clinton in the 60s. Professor Peavoy saved many of his letters, and this 2007 article from the New York Times describes a bit about what Hillary was like in her formative years. Rereading this article made me think about Sisters and the ways we've studied how the upbringing and personal experiences of women in leadership roles throughout American history informed the work they accomplished, their goals, and subsequently, the impacts they made on the course of American history. This brief look at Hillary's private past is interesting to consider as her public role is increasingly being scrutinized in light of her potential 2016 presidential bid (and it's also exciting that this insight is made possible by her personal correspondence with one of our own faculty members!). P.S. I haven't approached my advisor to talk about this, so I'm not sure if he's currently willing to discuss his past friendship with Hillary or not. Regardless, this article is worth looking at!