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Feminism, Politics, and Social Change in Modern Britain

The collections of the Modern Records Centre and University Library Special Collections contain a range of sources on the economic, political and social activism of women in Britain from the late 19th century onwards.

Selected documents relating to themes covered by the module 'Feminism, Politics and Social Change' are highlighted in the sections below. When copyright permits, we have digitised some of the sources and they can be viewed online. Undigitised material can be seen in the Modern Records Centre reading room.

Origins of the Victorian women's movement

Secularism, religion and women's rights, 1860-1914

Feminism and imperialism, 1860-1914

The suffrage movement, 1893-1918

Sex, sexuality and sex work, 1870-1930

Feminism, the family and the state, 1914-1939

'There's always been a women's movement in Britain? Assessing decline, impact and social change 1918-1945

The birth of the Women's Liberation Movement

Cultures of activism

Sexuality and abortion

Feminism, the family and motherhood

Wages for Housework?

The Sex Wars: Debates on Pornography and Sexual Violence

Feminism, race and racism