PengPeng Wang

• BA (Hons) English Literature & History
• Diaspora, Women and Leisure in the Northeast during the First World War

During the First World War, diasporic communities (immigrant populations) contributed to the British society in a number of ways, yet little attention has been paid to the part played by the women among them. This project considers how Belgian, Italian and Chinese women in the Northeast helped to keep up the spirits of their local communities during the war. Not only did they hold activities among themselves, but they also offered new entertainments to the British public. Their own leisure activities, however, were restricted largely due to the widely held fear for non-British subjects during wartime. The archival work forming the basis of this project willbe curated as part of a physical and an online exhibition of ‘Women and Leisure during the First World War’, which will present a lasting account of these women’s lives.

Funding source: Newcastle University

Supervisors: Dr Stacy Gillis, Dr Emma Short & Dr Paul Wright