Call for Papers: Voices of women in the Great War and its aftermath

Conference: Voices of women in the Great War and its aftermath 

The Black Country Living Museum

2 Tipton Rd, Dudley DY1 4SQ

13-14 April 2018

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS

Although the Great War is often seen as a time of change, offering new opportunities for women and culminating in the extension of the franchise to many in 1918, the conflict was not experienced in the same way by all. Class, region, age and marital status all shaped women’s lives during the war and after.

Working opportunities on the land, in munitions, clerical work, transport services and the armed forces gave young women in particular a chance to experience a modicum of freedom.

The majority of women were housewives in wartime, supporting and worrying about their loved ones in the armed forces and undertaking voluntary work. The war created new problems as women struggled to feed their families, care for children and make ends meet; struggles which often continued in the inter-war years.

This conference seeks to explore the multiplicity of women’s voices during the Great War and in the years that followed. It will look at the mundane and the extraordinary, the domestic and working worlds, the political and private, in order critically to examine elements of continuity and change and to consider what was to become the legacy of the Great War for women.

Contributions are invited from those working in universities, museums, community history, archives and independently for contributions of papers, panels, posters or exhibitions for this conference.

Abstracts for papers should be no more that 300 words long, and 150 words for posters. If you wish to put together a panel of 3-4 people then please provide an overall title and 100 word explanation for the panel. If you are interested in putting on an exhibition please send an email outlining your requirements and plans. All correspondence via email by 1 January 2018 to maggie.andrews@worc.ac.uk