Syllabus

• Week 1

  Women in the Nineteenth Century: Myth, Reality and Pioneers

  • Introduction

    In this activity we will introduce you to the main objectives of the course and topics we are examining in week 1.

  • Women in Literature

    Next we turn to Victorian literature. How far does the literature of the time reflect the social and cultural attitudes that curtailed women's freedoms in the nineteenth century?

  • Women in Art

    In this activity we examine the representation of women in art to better understand social and cultural attitudes toward women in Victorian Britain.

  • Women and Work

    Contrary to the middle class ideal in which women managed the private sphere of the home, the reality for most women was a life of hard work alongside men in the public sphere, as we explore in this activity.

  • Women and the Law

    In this activity we examine how the law limited women's rights and liberties, with particular reference to the campaigns of Caroline Norton and Barbara Bodichon.

  • Pioneers: Women's Education and the Campaign to Abolish the Slave Trade

    Hannah More and Elizabeth Jesser Reid were pioneers who opened up new opportunities for women through education and challenged the slave trade, helping redefine what a women could do in the process.

  • Pioneers: The Contagious Diseases Act and Factory Reform

    In this activity we examine the incredible story of Josephine Butler and her campaign against the Contagious Diseases Act and Helen Blackburn's efforts to improve working conditions for women.

  • Week 1 Conclusion

    Here we draw together some thoughts about the first week of Beyond the Ballot and look ahead to week 2.

• Week 2

  The Women's Suffrage Campaign

  • Introduction

    Welcome back to Beyond the Ballot. This week we examine the campaign for the vote, from the first mass petition to Parliament in 1866 to the campaigns of the peaceful suffragists and the militant suffragettes.

  • The Campaign Begins

    In this activity we explore the origins of the campaign for the vote, looking at the first mass petition calling for women's suffrage and the political backdrop to emergence of the organised campaign in the 1860s.

  • The Suffragists

    In this activity we will explore in the more detail the role and tactics of the suffragists, Millicent Garrett Fawcett and the formation of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies.

  • The Suffragettes

    In this activity we introduce the Pankhursts and the Women's Social and Political Union. We will explore how their organisation grew, adopted increasingly militant tactics and, eventually, split.

  • Assessing Suffragette Militancy, Then and Now

    What did 'Deeds not Words' mean in practice? Next we explore with Dr Fern Riddell the extremes to which some suffragettes went and hear from Dr David Yuratich how these activities would be legally classed today.

  • Forgotten Organisations and Supporters

    In this activity we explore some of the forgotten societies that campaigned for the vote, the often overlooked contribution of working class women to the cause and introduce some 'suffragettes in trousers'.

  • Week 2 Conclusion

    Time to reflect on what we've discovered this week.

• Week 3

  Responses to the Women's Suffrage Campaign

  • Introduction

    Welcome back. This week we are exploring the response to the women's suffrage campaign from politicians, the state and the public; the impact of the First World War; and the passage of the Representation of the People Act.

  • The Political Response to the Women's Suffrage Campaign

    In this activity we are looking at the position of the Liberal, Conservative and Labour parties on the women's suffrage question and profile three politicians whose positions were particularly significant.

  • The State Responds

    Next we examine how the machinery of state responded to the challenges posed by the militant suffrage campaign, looking at police and Home Office records held at The National Archives in Kew.

  • Popular Reactions to the Women's Suffrage Campaign

    In this activity we are looking at the popular responses to the women's suffrage campaign, the use of visual propaganda and the nature of some women's opposition to women's suffrage.

  • Impact of the First World War

    What difference did the war make to women's campaign for the vote? In this activity we visit Dr Naomi Paxton in the Parliamentary Archives to answer this and other questions about women and the First World War.

  • The Representation of the People Act

    In this activity we will examine the circumstances that led to the establishment of the Speaker's Conference, examining the broader question of electoral reform, and how this culminated in the extension of the vote to some women.

  • Conclusion

    Let's reflect on what we've discovered this week.

• Week 4

  Beyond the Ballot

  • Introduction

    Welcome back to Beyond the Ballot. This week we are examining the Representation of the People Act 1918 and the continuing struggle for women's rights beyond 1918, exploring New, Equality and Second Wave Feminism.

  • The Impact of Women Voters

    What difference did the extension of the vote to women make to the 1918 election and to politics between the two world wars? To find answers to these questions we return to Royal Holloway to speak with Dr Alex Windscheffel.

  • Women in Westminster

    Who were the first women to take their seats in Parliament, what issues did they raise and what legislation and debates are they associated with?

  • New and Equality Feminism

    Having achieved the vote what did campaigners for women's rights turn to next? What was New and Equality Feminism? What issues were these movements concerned with and what actions did they take?

  • Second Wave Feminism

    In this activity we explore Second Wave feminism and case studies ranging from the Women's Liberation Conference to the Dagenham Women's Strike of 1968.

  • Women and Parliament Today

    What do current and recent women MPs think are the remaining barriers to equality, have they been treated differently as MPs as women and what do they think should be done to encourage more women to engage with politics?

  • Week 4 and Course Conclusion

    What have we discovered this week and throughout Beyond the Ballot? Where next for feminism?

Who will you learn with?