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WOMEN’S HISTORY SCOTLAND NEWSLETTER
(October 2013)
Please send items for inclusion in the next newsletter to Elizabeth Ewan at
eewan@uoguelph.ca
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Lectures
Conferences, Workshops
Seminar Series
Calls for Papers
Libraries, Blogs
Essay Prizes
And Finally
1.LECTURES
Sybil Campbell Collection Annual Lecture 2013
Dr Helen McCarthy ‘A Woman's Place is in the Embassy: The History of Women in British
Diplomatic Life’
Thursday 17th October at 6.00 pm for 6.30pm, University Women's Club
18.00 Arrival, sandwiches and drinks 18.30 Lecture
£18; Postgraduate students £10
Please apply by 10th October, giving names of guests and enclosing a SAE and cheque
payable to ‘University of Winchester’; write on the back ‘Attention Dr S Spencer’.
Post to: Dr S Spencer, Faculty of Education, Health and Social Care, University of Winchester,
West Hill, Winchester, Hants. SO22 4NR Tel: 01962 827125
Further details: http://sybilcampbellcollection.org.uk/scc2/
St Hilda's Lady English Equality Lecture MELISSA BENN: 'What Should We Tell Our
Daughters? Equality and Feminism in the 21st Century'.
Based on her new book What Should We Tell Our Daughters? The Pleasures and Pressures
ofGrowing Up Female
Public lecture, 30 October 2013, 5.30pm, St Hilda's College.
All Welcome. Booking essential: http://ladyenglishlecture2013.eventbrite.co.uk/
Dr Selina Todd, Fellow and Lecturer (CUF) in Modern British History
St Hilda's College, Oxford, OX4 1DY
Tel 44 (0)1865 276835 www.selinatodd.com
Parliament Trust Annual Lecture
Portcullis House, Westminster Wed 6 Nov 6pm
Baroness Patricia Hollis will speak on ‘The Hopes of the Suffragettes: were they realised?’ The
lecture will be held at Portcullis House, Westminster on Wednesday 6th November at 6pm. The
event is free but a ticket will be required, to request one please email website@histparl.ac.uk.
Full details are available on our website: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/news/autumnevents-history-parliament-annual-lecture-baroness-hollis-and-term%E2%80%99s%E2%80%98parliaments-politic.
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2.CONFERENCES
IRISH WOMEN, RELIGION AND THE DIASPORA: A SYMPOSIUM
Women on Ireland Research Network (WOIRN)
Saturday 18 January 2014, Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool
This symposium organised by WOIRN seeks to understand not only the shifting role that religion
has played in the lives of Irish women but the role that Irish women themselves have
undertaken in religious institutions and organisations and how this role has changed over
time.Although the idea of diaspora assumes a shared experience, Irish migrants were of
different social, economic, political and even religious backgrounds. The sub themes for this
conference include: Irish lay women and faith-based organisations, institutional structures and
the construction of identity,anti-emigration and the significance of place. This symposium aims
to tease out the significance of religion to Irish women at home and abroad.
More details at http://www.liv.ac.uk/irish-studies/research/woirn-symposium/
Places are limited. Please send completed booking form and payment to Maria Power by 12
December 2013. Questions can be directed to Maria Power at m.c.power@liv.ac.ukor Carmen
Mangion at c.mangion@bbk.ac.uk
The North West Labour History Society – 23rd November 2013
The North West Labour History Society is celebrating 40 years of activity promoting labour
history with a conference on women’s history on 23 November 2013 in Manchester.
There will be sessions on topics such as music, trade unionism, socialism, Votes for Women,
socialism and feminism. The speakers will include Lindsey German, Claire Mooney, Alice
Nutter, Louise Raw, Rae Street and Sonja Tiernan. The fee for the day will be £10 waged/£5
unwaged.
For more information please visit
http://workershistory.wordpress.com/nwlhs-events
Scottish Local History Forum Conference - The Butcher, the Baxter and the
Candlemaker : Trades and Crafts in Scotland, medieval to modern
Thursday 31 October, 10.15-16.30, Glasgow Trades Hall, 85 Glassford Street, Glasgow.
The first part of the programme focuses on trade guilds and incorporations, with talks on
sources for apprenticeship and other records, the establishment of settlements on trade lands
in, for example, Elgin and Perth, and trade emblems on buildings and gravestones. During the
extended lunch break volunteers from Glasgow Trades House will give half-hour tours of the
building, and the AGM will be held. Also the small museum of artefacts and regalia relating to
the Glasgow Trades House will be open. In the afternoon the theme expands to nonincorporated trades and the period after the trade guilds lost their monopoly in 1832, with
examples from Paisley to Aberdeen. When standards declined with the advent of mass
production, arts schools, such as Glasgow School of Art, in the later 19th century aimed to
encourage improvements in craft design. The last talk brings the theme of crafts full circle,
linking modern carving with the history of the craft.
The conference will interest local, family and social historians, and non-members are most
welcome. Members £26.00; non-members £30.00. Further Information & booking form from
SLHF website www.slhf.org and
SLHF Administrator Box 103, 12 South Bridge, Edinburgh EH1 1DD.
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3. SEMINAR SERIES
Gender History Network (Edinburgh)
Wed 23 Oct 2013, 5-6.30pm Work in Progress Seminar
Leanne Dawson (University of Edinburgh)
‘Aimée & Jaguar: Representing Lesbian Desire’
Erla Hallsdorsdottir (Centre for Research in the Humanities, University of Iceland, and Visiting
Scholar, University of Edinburgh)
"A Biography of Her Own. The Historical Narrative and Sigríður Pálsdóttir (1809–1871)".
Venue: seminar room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Medical School, Doorway 4, Teviot Place.
Wed 27 Nov 2013, 5-6.30pm
Amy Tooth Murphy (University of East London)
''The Continuous Thread of Revelation': Chrono-normativity and the Challenge of Queer Oral
History'
Venue: seminar room G.13, William Robertson Wing, Medical School, Doorway 4, Teviot Place.
For further information about the Gender History Network (Edinburgh) see:
http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Research/networks/gender_history/ or
https://www.facebook.com/GenderHistoryNetwork
For campus maps and directions see: http://www.ed.ac.uk/maps
Centre for Gender History University of Glasgow
Research Seminars Semester 1, 2013-14
Thurs 3 October, 11.00am: Seminar Room, Lilybank House
Angela Davis (University of Warwick)
‘Wartime women giving birth: narratives of pregnancy and childbirth from Second World War
Britain’
Wed 16 October, 4.30 pm: Seminar Room, Lilybank House
Joan Tumblety (University of Southampton)
‘The self-help cure in post-war France: Marcel Rouet, gender and popular culture’
Wed 30 October, 12.30 pm: Room 209, 2 University Gardens
Alex Shepard (University of Glasgow)
‘Crediting women in the early modern English economy’
Wed 20 November, 4.00 pm: Seminar Room, Lilybank House
Maud Bracke (University of Glasgow)
‘Mapping the local, the national and the transnational in 1970s feminism: the campaign for
reproductive rights in Rome’
Wed 11 December, 12.30 pm: Seminar Room, Lilybank House
Julia Reid (University of Leeds)
‘“She-who-must-be-obeyed”: matriarchy in Victorian anthropology and literature’
University of Edinburgh School of History, Classics & Archaeology Scottish History
seminar programme Autumn Semester All seminars are on Thursdays at 6pm in Room G13
William Robertson Wing, Doorway 4, Old Medical School Quad, Teviot Place.
10 October, Dr Bill Knox, University of St Andrews. Homicide in Eighteenth Century Scotland –
Numbers and Theories
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17 October, Cathy Guiader, University of Edinburgh. Spa Waters and Spies: Mary Queen of
Scots Visits Buxton, 1572-1578
24 October, Dr Alison Duncan. 'Lady lairds and lineage: never-married gentlewomen and family
inheritance in early nineteenth-century Scotland'
31 October, Dr Matthew Dziennik, University of Edinburgh, IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE
SCOTTISH CENTRE FOR DIASPORA STUDIES. The Scottish Diaspora and the development
of ‘otherised’ military labour in the British Empire, c.1740-c.1840
Centre for the History of Health and Healthcare Seminar Series,
Glasgow Caledonian University.
2 October ‘Fathers and childbirth’ Linda Bryder, University of Auckland, NZ CEE2, 5pm
23 October ‘The local and the international in Shanghai's public healthcare, c. 1920-1937’
Isabella Jackson, University of Aberdeen 4pm
6 November 'The origins of the modern mortality regime: infant mortality by social status in
Georgian London' Romola Davenport, University of Cambridge 4pm
4 December '"Dear Father my health is broken down": Writing health in Irish charity letters,
1920-1940’ Lindsey Earner-Byrne, University College Dublin 4pm
All welcome! Refreshments will be available from 30 miniates before formal start times. All
Seminars are in the Hamish Wood Building, W325 except the seminar on 2 October which is in
the Centre for Executive Education (former CPD building)
Edinburgh History of Medicine Group seminar series, 2013-14.
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 9 Queen Street, at 4pm (refreshments) for 4.30pm.
(well, mostly)
9 October Tea from 4pm Seminar starts 4.30pm ‘Food allergy Before “allergy”’ Dr Matthew
Smith University of Strathclyde
16 October 5pm with University of Edinburgh Irish History seminar series, Room G.13, William
Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place ‘Gender, power and body mass in late-19th
century Irish prisons’ Dr Ciara Breathnach University of Limerick
6 November Douglas Guthrie History of Medicine Lecture 4.15pm ‘Scotland’s discoverer of
insulin: J J R Macleod’ Professor Michael Bliss University Professor Emeritus University of
Toronto
27 November Tea from 4pm Seminar starts 4.30pm ‘The history of forensic anthropology perhaps it is really forensic anatomy’ Professor Sue Black University of Dundee
Thursday 5 December Centre for Population Health Sciences 3rd Centenary of Public Health in
Edinburgh Lecture, Tea at 4.30pm Talk at 5.15pm ‘Evidence and action: The legacy of John
Snow. Views from the literature of Scotland on the potential for health.’ Professor Sir Kenneth
Calman University of Glasgow
Gender and History in the Americas
Held at 17.30 on the first Monday of the month
For further information, visit the website (http://www.history.ac.uk/events/seminars/370) or
contact the Society for the History of Women in the Americas (shawsociety@gmail.com)
7th October 2013 Janet Floyd, King’s College London, “Letter-Writing, Friendship and the
Foote-Gilder Correspondence”
4th November 2013 Antonia Mackay, Oxford Brookes University & Goldsmiths University of
London, “The Influence of Architecture in Cold War Literature”
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2nd December 2013 Joy Porter, University of Hull, “The Woman who Changed Nixon: LaDonna
Harris’s Lessons on How Small Nations Can Successfully Relate to Entrenched Power”
4. CALLS FOR PAPERS
History Unlimited – Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Research Seminars.
Glasgow Caledonian University and Strathclyde University, November 2013 to May 2014
Abstract Deadline: 10 Oct 2013 (500 words)
The Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare based at Glasgow Caledonian and
Strathclyde Universities is hosting a postgraduate interdisciplinary history seminar series from
November 2013 to May 2014. This is an exciting opportunity for postgraduate students and
early career researchers across the arts and humanities to present research which has an
historical focus. The seminars will provide a relaxed and supportive environment to share
research from a broad range of disciplines such as politics, sociology, literature, art, law,
economics, philosophy, psychology and history.
We welcome abstracts (500 words) from any discipline within the arts and humanities. Papers
can be on any topic and cover any historical period. We particularly welcome papers with a
health history focus. Abstracts should be sent along with contact details and a brief academic
biography to: Thora Hands: thora.hands@strath.ac.uk
The seminars will take place in November 2013 and January, March and May 2014.
Women as Wives and Workers: Marking Fifty Years of The Feminine Mystique
Saturday 30th November 2013 at Royal Holloway University of London
Abstract Deadline: 14 October 2013
2013 marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Feminine Mystique’s publication. From the outset,
Betty Friedan’s text had an enormous influence on academic and popular audiences, selling
millions and shaping feminist discourse about the housewife throughout the Western world. Yet
at the same time, full-time housewifery was becoming both a less common experience and a
cultural battlefield. Since the 1950s, levels of employment amongst married women (notably
white women) have risen enormously. Women have increasingly been confronted with the
‘superwoman’ paradox, which Friedan herself encapsulated: writing about ‘the zombie
housewife’ and ‘the problem that has no name’ whilst being a working wife and mother. Many
other women likewise negotiated domesticity and paid work, but their experiences were by no
means uniform and were shaped by various other factors including race, age, sexuality and
socio-economic status.
This conference aims to draw these themes together by offering an opportunity to explore The
Feminine Mystique alongside discussions of women and employment. Areas of consideration
may include but are not limited to:
Women’s paid employment
The Feminine Mystique, its impact and critiques, for example with regards to race
The international impact of The Feminine Mystique
Domesticity and the figure of the housewife: experiences, rights, cultural
portrayals
Discourses of motherhood and fatherhood
Evolving notions of family
Gender and education
Notions of ‘having it all’ and being ‘Superwoman’
The National Organization for Women: its impact, legacy and critics
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The development of women's organisations and networks since the 1960s
We invite papers that address these topics either broadly or specifically. While papers with a
particular emphasis on mid-twentieth century America may be given priority, we also encourage
scholars to present work with a comparative perspective (across time and/or space) or looking
at other geographical areas. Panel submissions are also welcome. A special issue of History of
Women in the Americas based on the conference papers is planned, subject to the usual peer
review procedure.
‘Women as Wives and Workers: Marking Fifty Years of The Feminine Mystique’ is the sixth
annual conference of the Society for the History of Women in the Americas (SHAW) and is
being co-organized with The Bedford Centre for the History of Women at Royal Holloway
University of London. The conference organisers are Helen Glew (University of Westminster),
Jane Hamlett (RHUL), Sinead McEneaney (St. Mary’s University College) and Rachel Ritchie
(Brunel University).
A 250-word abstract and a short biography should be emailed to
thefemininemystiqueat50@gmail.com. Please use the same email address for any other
enquiries about the event.
‘Outing Outsiders: Exclusion in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.
Department of History and the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies,
Trinity College Dublin, January 25th 2014.
Abstract deadline: 31 Oct 2013 (300 words)
A one day Symposium hosted by the Department of History and the Centre for Gender and
Women’s Studies Trinity College Dublin on January 25th 2014.
The medieval and early modern West, far from being a homogenous world, was one which was
diverse and, in many instances, multicultural. In the face of such diversity, how did communities
define themselves in the past? Who was an insider and who was excluded, who was the
outsider? Who decided upon normative and acceptable behaviour and how were those who
transgressedpunished? This one-day symposium will investigate the outsider in European
history.
Possible topics/themes to be discussed include but are not limited to:Those who placed
themselves outside society voluntarily (e.g. pilgrims, hermits, merchants, mercenaries) Those
who were excluded involuntarily (e.g. outlaws, captives, non-Christians, homosexuals) Those
who set themselves apart completely from the rules of society (e.g. heretics).
This Symposium aims to assemble the evidence from as wide a range of sources including
history, literature, gender studies and art to map the extent and meaning of what being an
outsider was in medieval and early modern Europe.
Call for papers poster available here.
Please send a brief bio and abstract to Gillian Kenny at kennygi@tcd.ie
Conference: Revealing Lives: Women in Science 1830-2000
Thurs 22 May–Fri 23 May 2014: The Royal Society, London
ABSTRACTS BY FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2013 (200 words)
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How are we to recover, interpret and understand women’s experiences in science? Popular
history delivers stories of a few ‘heroines’ of science, but perhaps these narratives do more to
conceal than reveal? Where were the workaday women scientists – now largely invisible –
whose contributions have helped shape science today?
This international conference aims to locate and examine women’s participation in science, to
identify areas for further research and to reflect on how historical interpretations can inform the
role of women in science today. The programme will include contemporary science-led panels
to provide context and help build connections between the past and the present.
‘Science’ and ‘participation’ will be defined to encourage maximum inclusivity and we welcome
contributions from a broad, multidisciplinary perspective. Themes may include (but are not
limited to):
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Women and learned societies
Women and spaces of scientific production
Women and scientific education and learning
Representations of women scientists: media, fiction, film, art
Scientific collaboration
Women within familial and social networks of science
Gendered roles in science
Science today: issues and challenges
The ‘leaky pipeline’: women leaving science
Selected papers from the conference will appear in a special issue of the Royal Society’s history
journal Notes and Records (final papers to be submitted by end of September 2014).
Proposals for panels and for individual papers are encouraged. Please send abstracts for
papers (max 20 minutes) of no more than 200 words, and for panels of no more than 400
words, along with brief biographical details, to Dr Claire Jones: C.G.Jones2@liverpool.ac.uk and
Dr Sue Hawkins: S.E.Hawkins@kingston.ac.uk
Memories, Identities & Communities
24-25 April 2014, Apex Hotel, Dundee.
Abstract Deadline: 18 October 2013 (250-350 words)
The Centre for Archive and Information Studies (CAIS) at the University of Dundee invites
proposals for the fourth inter-disciplinary conference in the ‘Investigating the Archive: Memory &
Identity’ programme.‘Community is the key concept, then, of the fourth archival paradigm now
coming into view, a democratizing of archives suitable for the social ethos, communication
patterns, and community requirements of the digital age.’ ‘Evidence, memory, identity, and
community: four shifting archival paradigms’, Terry Cook, Archival Science, 2013
We welcome proposals which explore the issues raised by the above quotation and, in
particular, which relate to the sub-themes below:
1. Archives, identities and societal / community memories
2. History, culture and interpretation
3. Shared creation, curation and ownership of information and archives
4. Fragmentation of the archival record and dilution of professional values
5. The impact of new ways of communicating and the digital world
6. Challenges of reaching new audiences and communities
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Proposals for individual 20 minute presentations or panel sessions of up to three speakers will
be considered and should be submitted to Patricia Whatley, Director, Centre for Archive and
Information Studies at p.e.whatley@dundee.ac.uk.
All submissions must contain: a) Title of submission b) Conference sub-theme c) Name of
speaker(s) d) Affiliation of speaker(s) [as it will appear on delegate badge] e) Address(es) of
speakers(s) f) E-mail address(es) of speaker(s) g) Abstract (250-350 words) h) Short
biography containing employment, research interests, publications i) Audio-visual equipment
required
All abstracts should be submitted in English, checked for correct grammar and spelling and emailed in Microsoft Word format. All submissions will be reviewed by the Conference
Committee and those which are accepted will be notified within four weeks of the
submission deadline.
Conference registration fees:
Full conference, including conference dinner - £130
Two days, conference only - £95
One day, conference only - £55
Conference dinner, Apex Hotel - £35
To facilitate on-going discussion during the sessions conference places are limited, therefore
early registration is recommended.
Accommodation and travel: A limited number of rooms will be available at the Apex Hotel for
conference delegates at the conference rate. In addition, a wide range of accommodation is
available in Dundee close to the Apex Hotel. More information will be available on the
conference web site when registration opens in November.
Death of Scotland, from the medieval to the modern: beliefs, attitudes and practices
New College, University of Edinburgh, Fri 31 Jan – Sun 2 Feb 2014
Abstract deadline: 31 Oct 2013 (200 words)
This conference invites those who are researching death from whatever disciplinary perspective
to offer papers. There will be particularly welcome on the subjects of: Death, grief and mourning;
burial and cremation; folklore, customs and rituals; violent death, including war; plague,
pestilence and famine; childhood death; death, poverty, age, gender and status; legal and
medical aspects of death; death, urban and rural comparisons; death in literature and the visual
arts, theology, liturgy and funeral ministry; architecture, landscape and monuments.
Please send abstracts of 200 words maximum to peter.c.jupp@ed.ac.uk or
susan/buckham@kirkyard-consulting.co.uk
5. LIBRARIES, BLOGS
Glasgow Women’s Library
The monthly GWL update provides A regular update about the activities and news at Glasgow
Women's Library. If this message has been forwarded to you from someone else then why not
join our mailing list http://womenslibrary.org.uk/ to receive updates direct to your inbox.
Stop press! We finally have news on our move date. It has been a long time coming and
everyone has been so patient waiting on this news. The Library will open in Bridgeton on 11th
November 2013 http://womenslibrary.org.uk/2013/09/20/gwl-is-moving-to-23-landressystreet/?utm_source=gwl-email-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october-13. In the
lead up to this we will have to close for a number of weeks to pack and move. The library will be
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closed (except for events) from 14th October until we reopen our doors on 11th November.
There is more information on all of this on our
website<http://womenslibrary.org.uk/2013/09/20/gwl-is-moving-to-23-landressystreet/?utm_source=gwl-email-news&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=october-13>.
During the move period we still have plenty of events and activities you can take part in at our
new Landressy Street home: see the newsletter for details.
http://www.womenslibrary.org.uk/<http://www.womenslibrary.org.uk/news/calendar/>
We hope to see you at the library soon.
Laura Dolan
Lifelong Learning Assistant
Glasgow Women's Library, 15 Berkeley Street
Glasgow, G3 7BW
Tel: 0141 248 9969
www.womenslibrary.org.uk<http://www.womenslibrary.org.uk>
National Library of Scotland Renovation work
Major renovation work is about to start at the National Library of Scotland’s main buildings in
Edinburgh. The repair and maintenance programme is essential to ensure the Library’s world
class collections are housed in the best conditions possible. All the Library’s services will
operate as normal during the renovation programme and every effort will be made to minimise
disruption to visitors, readers and near neighbours.
Scaffolding will go up at the main building on George IV Bridge from September as part of an
18-month refurbishment programme, and work will start next year on repairing the exterior of the
seven-storey building in Causewayside.
This project will last three years.
Women in the history of engineering Blog
Direct URL to my blog on women in the history of engineering:
http://womeninscience.net/?p=504#more-504
Dr Nina Baker
Department of Architecture, Room AR230 (ground floor)
131 Rottenrow, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG
Tel 0141 548 2117
6.ESSAY PRIZES
2013 ESHSS Essay Prize
Submission deadline: 31 Dec 2013
The Committee of the Economic & Social History Society of Scotland awards an annual
Postgraduate Prize for a Research Essay on a Scottish Theme in the general area of economic,
social and cultural history. The winner's or winners' essay(s) will be automatically considered
for publication in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies. The closing date for the next prize is
31 December 2013. Postgraduate researchers are encouraged to make submissions - see the
ESHSS website for more details. www.eshss.co.uk - click on 'Essay Prize' on the side bar.
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7.REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
I am writing to ask for assistance with my research on the social history of ‘shopgirls’ in the UK
from the 1860s – 1960s, for use in an upcoming BBC TWO series and accompanying book.
The project follows on from a previous social history TV series ‘Servants: the true story of life
below stairs’, presented by Pam Cox from the University of Essex. We will follow the story from
the drapers’ stores of the 1860s when young women’s employment in retail was taking off,
through the late Victorian and Edwardian era and the rise of the spectacular new department
stores, all the way through to 1960s boutiques set up by post-war women entrepreneurs.
I am specifically looking for the personal accounts of women who worked in or ran shops in the
1860s and 1870s; for any written documentation such as diaries, memoirs or letters that can
give us an insight into their lives and work.I am also hoping to find written accounts from
customers in the second half of the nineteenth century who wrote about their shopping
experiences, with particular reference to female shop assistants.
If you have any other information relating to shopgirls that you think may be of use that would
equally be very welcome. Any leads would be much appreciated, and I can be contacted at:
lauren.bennie@betty.co.uk.
Many thanks,
Lauren Bennie
Betty the heal's building | 8 alfred mews | london w1t 7aa
020 7290 0660 | 07941014327 | lauren.bennie@betty.co.uk
8.AND FINALLY
Braveheart meets Brave
Scotland is seeing the benefits of a multi-million pound global marketing campaign tied in to last
year's movie Brave, says VisitScotland.
Go to BBC to read the original article.
Queen of Scots to be portrayed on television and film
Go to BBC to read the original article.
WOMEN’S HISTORY SCOTLAND
Promoting study and research in women's and gender history in
Scotland
VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
http://womenshistoryscotland.org/