"Partnerships in Teaching Female Entrepreneurship "

Where does a course on Female Entrepreneurship in Latin America belong at a liberal arts university? This presentation considers the value of collaboration for teaching the history of gender and entrepreneurship in the Americas. Although pedagogy on the history of gender in Latin America benefits from a rich historiography and diverse collection of primary sources, the specific topic of women in business often sits at the margins of courses in the humanities. At the same time, entrepreneurship programs are increasingly incorporating interdisciplinary courses and pedagogy into their curriculum to present new analytical tools and frameworks for understanding business and enterprise. As co-teachers of a course on gender and entrepreneurship in the Americas, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of offering a cross-listed course in History and Entrepreneurship. We will review what is gained, and what is lost, when teaching across time, geographical space, and academic disciplines. Likewise, we offer a model of interdisciplinary literature, data sources, and research methods that can help students understand the historical and contemporary complexity of gender and underrepresented populations within entrepreneurial pursuits. Our experience of teaching the motives, strategies, and impacts of female entrepreneurs in the Americas underscores the benefits of linking History and Entrepreneurship for student learning, curricular innovation, and career preparation that privileges equity and inclusion.