Education, college women and suffrage: international perspectives

Pioneers of women’s higher or further education in different countries both supported and distanced themselves from contemporary suffrage campaigns for a range of reasons. Women who had benefitted from a college education that had introduced them to ideas of equality, democracy and citizenship also joined both sides of the suffrage debate as evidenced in letters, diaries, newspaper reports and other ephemera. The debates took place within nations and on the international stage, and college women travelled extensively in their private and professional lives exchanging views through their correspondence and in their memories. This international, conference will provide a forum for those involved in teaching and researching suffrage and the history of women’s education (in schools, HE and heritage institutions) to discuss new directions. We invite submissions

in a range of formats by archivists, public historians, researchers, curators and teachers to explore and discuss the under-researched links between education and suffrage. Presentations may draw on a range of sources as they relate to the intersection of education and suffrage, including the use and interpretation of digital archives and material sources for research or educational purposes. Proposals of c. 300 words are welcome for 10 or 20 minute individual presentations, or for workshops, panels, symposia, or posters on the themes of (but not limited to):

Histories

College Women’s engagement with suffrage or anti-suffrage Institutional attitudes and responses to suffrage Alumnae networks, Associations and suffrage College Women’s inter/trans-national suffrage connections

Heritage

Oral histories of education and suffrage