With the 100th anniversary of woman’s suffrage and Virginia ratifying the Equal Rights Act, it is a great time to research the women involved. But do you know where to look for these elusive ladies? Join our panel of archivists and historians to learn what types of information are available, what resources are a goldmine of information, and what challenges await the researcher.
Speakers: Benjamin Aldred is the librarian for Social Work, Urban Planning, Maps and Government Information at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ben has an MLS from the University of Illinois and a PhD in Folklore and American Studies from Indiana University where he specialized in tourist folklore about the Salem Witch Trials. He presently researches library collection development using digital humanities methods.
Anya Jabour, Regents Professor of History at the University of Montana, teaches courses in U.S. women's history, the history of families and children, the history of gender and sexuality, and the American South. She is the author or editor of six books, most recently a biography of a Kentucky-born, Chicago-based social work educator, woman suffrage advocate, and social justice activist entitled Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women's Activism in Modern America. She has a particular interest in biography. She regularly teaches a research and writing seminar "Writing Women's Lives," and for the past three years she has been the state coordinator for an online biographical dictionary of suffrage activists.
Recording Coming Soon
Janet Olson was Assistant University Archivist at Northwestern University from 1998 until her retirement in May 2020. Her final project at Northwestern was the creation of the exhibit and catalog On the Same Terms to mark the 150th anniversary of co-education at the university. She has also been the part-time archivist for the Frances Willard House Museum and WCTU Archives in Evanston since 2007. Janet is a Certified Archivist and has held leadership roles in local, regional, and national professional organizations. She has an MA in History from Loyola University in Chicago. Her research focuses on 19th-century social reform, and she has presented papers at a number of history and archives professional conferences.
