In this blog post from Cheney School, Lorna Robinson (Rumble Museum) talks about their recent visit to the “Sappho to Suffrage: Women Who Dared” Exhibition.
'This week, we took Year Twelve History students to see the fascinating “Sappho to Suffrage: Women Who Dared” Exhibition, which has recently opened at the Weston Library. The Rumble Museum at Cheney is organising a whole range of suffrage-themed events to celebrate 100 years since women received the vote, and we are very fortunate to be working with The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) in producing two public exhibition boards which will be displayed in the centre of town.
Year 12 History students will be able to design the material for their own board, and this trip was designed both as an introduction to some historical pioneering women, as well as providing lots of stimulating information for choosing their personal studies next term.
The students enjoyed seeing a range of interesting and unusual artefacts, ranging from beautiful botanical illustrations in books to medals awarded to suffragists. There were fragments from the ancient Greek poet Sappho, and letters written by Florence Nightingale. The items were accompanied by interesting descriptions and details about the lives of the women. There was also a suffrage champions wall, featuring women in arts, business, media and politics, and a large replica banner for the Oxford Suffrage Society.
The students will be looking at photographs and information about local suffragists from the Oxford Archives to design their board in the next few weeks.
We are very grateful to The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities for this exciting opportunity and also to the Weston Library for the wonderful exhibition.'
You can read more about the Rumble Museum here.
Lorna Robinson
Humanities & Identities
Women in the Humanities
Women's Suffrage 2018