This essay focuses on Christian women's contribution to the early 20th-century history of Chinese education. It aims to explore how women from Iowa, a Midwestern state in America, and Fujian, a coastal province in China, became collaboratively dedicated to the development of Hwa Nan College. As one of the most famous women's colleges in early 20th century China, Hwa Nan College is not an unfamiliar subject to educational historians of China. However, most academic literature regarding this college is prone to view it as an outcome of the modernization of Chinese education by American missionaries, and scholars situate it in the framework of transnational history. However, the history of Hwa Nan College primarily involves two provinces/states instead of two nations: its founders and first two superintendents were all Methodist missionaries from Iowa; its students mainly came from Christian families in Fujian; when studying abroad, its graduates predominantly were enrolled in colleges in Iowa. Beyond the limitation of the transnational narrative of Hwa Nan College, this essay intends to cast light on the significance of local-to-local relations for understanding women's higher education in China in the following three sections. The first section begins with Iowa missionaries' journey in Fujian province. As one coastal city in East China, Fuzhou was the bridgehead of the Methodist missionaries' works in Asia since its first presence in 1842. In the late 19th century, Iowa-original Methodist missionaries played an important role in the modernization of local society, to which women's education was no exception. A set of Iowa women missionaries served in Fuzhou and founded the college for Chinese Christians in Fujian. After examining Iowan women missionaries' engagements with higher education in Fuzhou, the second part shifts to Hwa Nan College graduates' studies and campus life in Iowa. Through the lens of three prominent figures, Lucy Wang, Cindy Chen, and Sandy Ho's enrollment at Morningside College (in Sioux City, IA) and Cornell College (Mount Vernon, IA), this section sheds light on their distinguished academic achievements and engagement with the local society of Iowa. They successfully promoted Chinese culture in the heartland of the United States and elicited their interest in the current events in China. After graduating from colleges in Iowa, those Chinese exchange students predominantly chose to return to serve the local society in Fuzhou, especially joining the faculty at Hwa Nan College. They maintained a strong connection with Iowa, which enabled the local society and colleges in Iowa to keep providing financial and personnel support for the development of Hwa Nan College. In return, those young women coming from Fujian and studying in Iowa continued to contribute news from and knowledge about China to local audiences in Iowa. Drawing on a great number of materials from rarely used archives found in Iowa, this essay aims to demonstrate the reciprocal relationship between Methodist churches and missionaries, women college students and teachers, and local society in Fujian and Iowa. The outcome of this research renews scholars' comprehension of the history of Chinese higher education in a trans-local framework.

Although pedagogy is traditionally seen as a female-dominated profession, and educational science today has one of the highest female-to-male ratios, the canonical works of pedagogical history are almost exclusively written by men. A closer look at this canon reveals glaring omissions: women and non-European perspectives are largely absent, despite the richness of theories and sources waiting to be explored. This paper aims to address this gap by employing a hermeneutic approach to analyse the theories of key women thinkers in the field of pedagogy. Additionally, a discourse analysis will examine how these thinkers' contributions were marginalized in dominant educational discourses. Through the interpretive examination of their writings, this study will highlight how these overlooked perspectives can provide new insights into contemporary educational challenges. Rather than seeking to overthrow the Western canon, this contribution advocates for an integration and synthesis of diverse theories that reflect global and societal diversity. By interpreting these historical texts within their cultural and temporal contexts, this paper not only seeks to uncover previously marginalized voices but also to rethink the foundations of the pedagogical canon from a more inclusive and global perspective.

This paper provides an initial analysis of how ethnic minority women were represented in "Momento Feminino," a Brazilian newspaper published between 1947 and 1956 and closely associated with feminist and left-wing movements, including the Brazilian Communist Party and Women’s International Democratic Federation. The newspaper played a central role in advocating for women’s rights and addressing socioeconomic inequalities amid postcolonial questioning in Brazil and elsewhere in the Global South, while devoting less attention to racial discrimination issues and subscribing to some traditional narratives of femininity. This study employs a micro-spatial and intersectional feminist approach in uncovering how Indigenous, African, and mixed-descent women were depicted and involved in the publication. Early findings suggest that while these women were present in the broader discourse of activism, their roles were often framed through a class-based lens, with the implications of racial and ethnic identities given less emphasis. This research contributes to the broader historiography of Brazilian feminism by revealing how intersecting forms of oppression shaped ethnic minority women's experiences within social and political movements of the mid-20th century. Moreover, it highlights the importance of revisiting historical narratives to include marginalized voices so far overshadowed in mainstream accounts. By situating these findings within the context of global feminist movements, this study aims to foster a more inclusive understanding of the complex dynamics of race, gender, and class. The research has the potential to inform global discussions on intersectionality, media representation, and the roles of underrepresented groups in shaping social change, both in Brazil and beyond.