RGU academics aim to make the history of the Suffragettes accessible to everyone

Sarah Pedersen, professor of communication and media at RGU’s School of Creative and Cultural Business, is working with other academics and schools within the university on her latest project, which aims to represent the breadth and depth of campaigning for the vote for women in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire between 1867 and 1918. 

The Scottish Suffragette Cities Project, which has been funded through RGU’s Research pump-priming funding initiative, has launched a website that features an interactive map of the region. Each pin on the map indicates at least one suffrage-related event and clicking on each place will give you further information about what happened there and who was involved.  

Professor Pedersen is hoping the public will get involved in this initiative by contributing their own information. She has been working with Dr John Isaacs from the university’s School of Computing.

Professor Pedersen said: “The activities of Scottish suffragists and suffragettes have been overshadowed by what went on in London, to the extent that the history of the movement being taught at higher level in schools in Scotland focuses mainly on English action.

“Our research into the locations of the Scottish suffrage campaign has initially focused on Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. The website maps the activity of the women who fought for the right to vote and also contains further information about their fight for the vote. We hope that the public will engage with the project and contribute their own information.

“The aim of this website is to map the locations of suffragist and suffragette activity throughout the city and Aberdeenshire. Each point on the map indicated at least one suffrage-related event. Some locations, such as the Aberdeen Music Hall, saw many different events. Clicking on each place will give you further information about what happened and who was involved.

“We aim to cover the suffrage campaigns of the constitutional suffragists, such as the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and the militant suffragettes, such as the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and the Women’s Freedom League (WFL).

“People who think a relative was a suffragette could take a lead from the site to investigate their family history while local historians will be able to contribute to the history of their area. It is hoped that further funding will enable the site to grow, eventually to encompass the whole of Scotland.”

 Dr John Isaacs, senior lecturer and course leader for Computer Science and Computing, has been leading the development of the website.

He said: “I think it’s really important that we make the history of the Suffragettes in Aberdeen easily available and accessible to everyone and this type of technology provides a great vehicle for doing just that.”