On February 6th 1918, The Representation of the People Act gave the vote to women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification. On the 14th December 1918, 8.5 million women voted for the first time in a General Election. To celebrate this historic event we've made a short film on two remarkable suffragettes, Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson. Check out their incredible story below then dig deeper into our resources on suffragettes, women's history and feminism.
Endell Street: A Suffragette Story
‘Literary Caregiving’: The War Library and Endell Street Military Hospital Library
How did women (including suffragettes) help wounded soldiers in the First World War? Dr Sara Haslam explores this question, drawing on her research into the War Library and the library at Endell Street Military Hospital.
Read now ❯‘Literary Caregiving’: The War Library and Endell Street Military Hospital Library
Listen to: The Suffragettes
The Suffragettes have got a reputation as a largely peaceful movement - but they were prepared to go much further.
Listen now ❯Listen to: The Suffragettes
Sylvia Pankhurst: The Expert View
Professor Mary Davis explores the life and achievements of Sylvia Pankhurst.
Read now ❯Sylvia Pankhurst: The Expert View
How women changed the world
Who wrote the first novel over 1000 years ago? Who disguised herself as a man to explore the new world? Take this interactive world tour to discover the stories the history books left out.
Take part now ❯How women changed the world
Did Donald Trump ride a tide of anti-feminism to the White House?
Jo Gill believes a history of American anti-feminist sentiment can explain how Hillary Clinton was defeated in the US Presidential election.
Watch now ❯Did Donald Trump ride a tide of anti-feminism to the White House?
Feminist History And Women's history
Professor Anne Laurence explores women's role in the past in this article on feminist history.
Read now ❯Feminist History And Women's history
Women Writers: Voices in Transition
In the last century which women writers have truly challenged the existing forms of literature? How did they make their voices heard using brand new techniques and styles? For centuries there have been women writers who have changed the face of literature, but we tend to talk of their lives and work in very certain terms. This series of video-slideshows reveals how writing and reputation are often forged in transition, uncertainty and change. In these 4 films we re-examine the lives, work and influence of: Virginia Woolf, Jean Rhys, Katherine Mansfield and Jeanette Winterson. This material forms part of the Open University course A300 20th century literature: texts and debates.
Watch now ❯Women Writers: Voices in Transition
Women in Science
How have individual female scientists contributed to the advancement of science through time? To celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day (March 8th) and to mark International Year of Chemistry 2011, The Open University asked some of the female scientists currently working in its Faculty of Science, to nominate their personal choice of outstanding woman of science. The female scientists nominated include several Nobel Prize Laureates, such as Marie Curie, Dorothy Hodgkin and American geneticist, Barbara McClintock. The academics also talk about their own experiences of being a woman in the sciences today.
Listen now ❯Women in Science
The Real Wonder Women
Take a look at 60 of the world's most influential and pioneering women and the impact they made over 100 years.
Take part now ❯The Real Wonder WomenTake it further with The Open University
BA (Honours) English Literature
English literature is a broad and accessible subject that is important in its own right and offers connections to a wide range of other kinds of cultural enquiry. This wide-ranging, fascinating degree course draws on a rich variety of texts and approaches, helping to reveal the extraordinary scope of English Literature and its importance in today’s world. You’ll encounter texts from different historical and cultural settings – including translations – in genres from poetry to fiction to film scripts. At Level 1 your studies will be framed within interdisciplinary themes; later, more specialised modules will help you consolidate your understanding of literary history and critical approaches to all the major literary genres. You can also choose creative writing and English language modules as part of your English literature degree. As you progress, you’ll become a more self-aware reader of all kinds of writing, and acquire advanced skills in analysis, evaluation and communication.
Learn more ❯BA (Honours) English Literature
BA (Honours) History
With this degree course you will develop and deepen your knowledge of different periods of history from antiquity to the twentieth century. Engaging with a range of exciting and challenging topics such as imperialism, politics, social relations, medicine, warfare and religion in different periods, you will learn the skills of the historian in studying the materials of the past. You will also examine some of the critical approaches taken by historians to their subject matter. We offer a number of alternative routes through the BA (Hons) History with different combinations of modules, allowing you to align your studies with your own particular historical interests. Studying within a broad framework designed to meet high national standards for single-subject history degrees, you will develop a range of skills in knowledge management, oral and written communication, critical reasoning, research, and information and communications technologies, all of which are highly valued in the modern workplace.
Learn more ❯BA (Honours) History
BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing
This degree course offers a stimulating and wide-ranging introduction to English literature and creative writing. You’ll have the opportunity to study and interpret literature from different historical periods and diverse cultural settings – including translations – and to develop your writing skills in several genres including fiction; poetry; life writing; and scriptwriting for film, radio and stage. Key features of the course: Learn how to analyse a wide range of texts including fiction, poetry and drama. Develop and reflect on your own writing practice At Stage 3 have the opportunity to develop a project based on independent study Learn the skills of complex argument and critical commentary, which are highly valued in the workplace
Read more ❯BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing
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