Suffragettes as public historians
Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst by A.G.Walker adjacent to Houses of Parliament
Public History & Popular Memory. Issues in the commemoration of the British militant suffrage movement
This article argues that British militant suffrage feminists had a strong sense of their role in history. Once the vote was finally won militants became the first public historians of their own suffrage history by collecting ‘relics’ of the campaign and commemorating suffrage events. The work of curators especially at the Museum of London and the National Library of Australia also facilitated access to the movement’s ephemera. Subsequent generations have ‘remembered’ suffrage in different ways including depiction in fiction, film, local histories and the physical landscape. ( Another article comparing Australian and British suffrage commemoration also discusses the work of ‘constitutionalist’ suffrage feminists.)
To read the article on public history and popular memory click here: H Kean Women’s History Review 2005
To read the article comparing Australian and British suffrage commemorations click here: suffrage article PHR rev iew
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