For me the history of quilting, especially as primarily a female expression of art is very important to me even though I do not come from a family tradition of quilting. When I started quilting back in the 70s before the rotary revolution and the modern age of quilting basically all I had were black and white history books or collections of blocks with no setting directions much less cutting or other instructions. As I sit with all my modern tools and the internet and detailed instructions, I marvel at the creativity that people/women were able to do with simply a folded piece of paper, a straight edge, and maybe a piece of string or outlining a plate or whatever. Plus the sharing and generosity of their friends, family and neighbors.
When I was in college and could choose the topics for my papers they were typically about quilting or at at least cotton and textiles. There is a lot of support for the idea that cotton was the cause/birth of the industrial revolution. The train systems were to get the fibers to/from the mills. The first inklings of computer code came from the weaving loom instructions. The production of cotton was responsible all sorts of technology improvements, and the history of dyes (like why red and green...) is interesting as well. The search for comfortable as well as affordable fabric for the masses came down to cotton and there is a lot of economic history, colonization, wars and other stuff too. I think it is important to understand that as soon as there were sewing machines, people figured out ways to quilt with them, I don't think we can fully understand in our modern age the liberation the sewing machine (itself a technological marvel) meant to everything being hand stitched. I find it all fascinating!
For another link/aspect, check out the Ladies Art Company which started in the late 1800s.
http://ladiesartcompany.com/?page_id=88
A bit later came Ruby McKim (my first quilt book was her 101 blocks) and the Kansas City Star patterns.
https://www.mckimstudios.com/02bio/bio.shtml