51ĀŅĀ×

Dr. Sara Egge of Centre College will visit 51ĀŅĀ× on Wednesday, Feb. 19, and give a talk on the fourth floor of Alden Library from 3 to 4:30 p.m. about her latest book, ā€œWoman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest, 1870-1920ā€ as part of the Authors @Alden series.

The event is part of the celebration surrounding the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, which extended the right to vote to all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender. The celebration will include a  throughout the spring semester.

ā€œTwo of our biggest events for this year celebrating womenā€™s suffrage are the  with Dr. Sara Egge and the special collections exhibit on the fourth floor of Alden: ā€˜,ā€™ā€ Miriam Intrator, special collections librarian said.

will speak with , professor and chair of the history department at OHIO. Jellison, who has written several books on women and gender herself, said sheā€™s interested in talking with Egge about her research process, womenā€™s suffrage in the Midwest and the lessons that people can take from the activism within the suffrage movement.

As women in the Midwest tried to gain support for the right to vote, they used some tactics that would be considered ethically questionable by todayā€™s standards. At the time of the suffrage movement, the Midwest was home to a great number of immigrants, many of whom had the right to vote before they gained citizenship. Egge pointed out that nativism drove the conversation about suffrage with many people in rural midwestern communities who didnā€™t like the fact that male immigrants could vote before native-born women could.

ā€œThereā€™s this broader conversation about rights and citizenship that might interest anybody,ā€ Egge said. ā€œThereā€™s also a lot of conversations today surrounding the topics of immigrants, womenā€™s rights, gender, identity and the guarantees of the Constitution, so I think anyone who is interested in those things will find this talk to be quite compelling.ā€

Egge said that the talk will appeal to anyone who is interested in political science, law, history, social justice, womenā€™s rights and anyone who is open to thinking more critically about the Constitution and the rights that it claims to protect.

Intrator hopes that the information and events that the Libraries is providing encourages students to reflect on the idea of civic duty and what our individual rights and responsibilities are against the backdrop of the 100^th anniversary of the suffragistsā€™ success, while engaging with the Libraries at the same time.

ā€œWe want to offer students opportunities for learning and engaging that are different from their day-to-day class and University experience,ā€ Intrator said. ā€œWe want to introduce them to original materials, to a broad range of ideas, perspectives and experiences, and to conversations that are happening across campus, in the community and beyond.ā€