On the eve of International Women's Day, 8 March, the International Institute of Social History (IISH) has published on its Web server the first two parts of a Guide to Sources for Women's History in the IISH to highlight the presence of women and women's organizations in the Institute's rich collections. The URL is: www.iisg.nl/~womhist/womarc.html.
Women's History in the IISH
The women who left traces of their life and work in the International Institute of Social History were typically involved in the labour movement and other social movements. They were writers, journalists, newspaper publishers, politicians, historians, teachers, artists, nurses or philosophers. They campaigned for humane working conditions and fair wages, for peace, human rights, sexual reform, the improvement of education, health care, or housing. They were socialists, Marxists, Trotskyists or anarchists. Among them were women's rights campaigners, feminists and suffragists. In some cases they were secretaries or translators assisting prominent writers or politicians, but often enough they were important thinkers or activists in their own right.
These individuals and their organizations are listed here to provide an overview of the primary sources for women's history to be found in the archives and manuscript collections of the IISH. The lists are based on the 'Index to the Archival Collections' held by the IISH (URL: http://www.iisg.nl/archives/index.html), with additional entries for women whose papers are part of the archives of their correspondents or relatives, and some introductory biographical and bibliographical notes. This information will be updated and added to on an ongoing basis. In the near future, similar guides to women's history in the Institute's book & pamphlet, periodical and audio visual collections will be presented on the IISH server.
Jenneke Quast
International Institute of Social History
Cruquiusweg 31
NL 1019 AT Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel +31 20 6685866
Fax +31 20 6654181
email
url www.iisg.nl/~womhist/
Posted: 7 March 2001