WOMEN OF THE LIT & PHIL
External Partner: Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle
http://www.litandphil.org.uk/html_pages/LP_home.html
The Literary & Philosophical Society (Lit & Phil) in Newcastle is the largest independent library outside London, housing over 150,000 books. The Society was founded early in 1793 as a ‘conversation club’, with an annual subscription of one guinea. From its outset, the Society had an enterprising, inquisitive and liberal nature, and the first women members were admitted by 1804.
This project would explore the role of women within the Lit & Phil, drawing on the Society’s reports, minutes and noted discussions. The earliest women members created the Ladies Room, and current plans to re-develop this space to make way for a new lift have been hotly debated, making this a very timely project.
The project is suitable for undergraduate or postgraduate research, and offers scope for oral history collection amongst the older members of the Lit & Phil.
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