The idea for this project was born out of the Arts Faculty's Student Research Portfolio. Through the project, students from across the Arts Faculty were grouped together to work on a research project of their choice. This allowed us to undertake a topic not necessarily covered by our courses with an interdisciplinary approach.

Given the conception of this project was in the midst of a national lockdown, our project was designed with the intention of passing it down to the following cohorts of the Student Research Portfolio to expand on our research with resources that we were not able to access, such as physical archives and libraries.

Our team members Ruby Hunter and Emma Radley have also joined together to write an essay on the methodology of their research.

Why join the Breaking Barriers project?

This is an amazing opportunity to give more scope to such an under-researched area and contribute to a lasting educational resource.

Some potential topics and themes that you can explore through the Breaking Barriers:

• Women we did not get to fully research such as Ethel Violet Baldock and Jessie Kenney
• Male figures in the suffrage movement

We want this to be a reliable, lasting resource for people to learn about the alternative history of the suffragette movement so you are also welcome to revising the research we have already done by backing it with new sources that we were not able to access due to COVID-19.

Potential outputs you can produce using your own or pre-existing research through the project:

• A physical exhibition in the new arts building or Modern Records Centre
• A Podcast
• Expand on the Online Exhibition we have already created

These are just some ideas but ultimately you and your group are free to take the project in any direction you want!