Beyond the Ballot: Women’s Rights and Suffrage from 1866 to Today (FutureLearn)

You will learn the story of how and why the vote was extended to women in 1918, the movements behind this change and how the struggle for equality continued throughout the twentieth century.

What topics will you cover?
Guided by Claire Kennan from Royal Holloway, University of London, you will examine:

• The myth and reality of women’s experience of the nineteenth century through literature, art, work and the law;
• Four pioneering women whose campaigns for issues other than the vote laid the foundation for the women’s suffrage campaign;
• The movements and milestones in campaigning for votes for women;
• The impact of the First World War and the passage of the 1918 Representation of the People Act;
• The campaign for equality after 1918 and the impact of the first women MPs;
• The relationship between protest and political change and how Suffragette militancy would be regarded today.

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• assess and discuss the social, cultural and legal frameworks that curtailed women’s rights in the nineteenth century and how these were being challenged by a selection of pioneering women
• assess and discuss the origins of the women’s suffrage movement and why early attempts to extend the franchise failed
• evaluate and discuss why (some) women received the vote in 1918, comparing different arguments and assessing key documents
• assess the impact of the struggle for equality since the passage of the Representation of the People Act, comparing the responses of early women MPs and campaigners and wider movements
• reflect upon and discuss the role of protest in effecting political change and how Suffragette militancy and the government’s response at the beginning of the 20th century would be classified today