1. Analyse Testament of Youth as a source for understanding
(a) the impact of war on women
(b) contemporary gender attitudes

2. Analyse the short and long term consequences of war work upon women.

3. What was the impact of the war upon ideas about gender roles?

Core Reading

Brittain, Vera. Testament of Youth, ch. 3, parts 2-8; chap 4; ch. 8, part 11 to end;ch. 10, parts 2-10; ch. 11, parts 1-3, parts 7-11; ch. 12, part 11

Braybon, Gail and Summerfield, Penelope. Out of the Cage: Women's Experiences in Two World Wars, chs 3-8

Bruley, S. Women in Britain since 1900, chs. 2, 3

Kent, Susan Kingsley. 'Gender Reconstruction after the First World War' in Smith, H.L. (ed), British Feminism in the Twentieth Century#

Purvis, June (ed) Women's History: Britain, 1850-1945, ch. 12

Vera Brittain

Layton, L. 'Vera Brittain's Testament(s)' in Higgonet et al (eds), Behind the Lines

Lewis, Jane. Labour and Love

Lewis, Jane. Women in England 1870-1950: Sexual Divisions and Social Change, ch.3

Mellown, Muriel. 'Vera Brittain: Feminist in a New Age' in Spender (ed), Feminist Theories

Pugh, Martin. Women and the Women's Movement in Britain 1914-1959

World War I

Braybon, Gail. 'Women and the War' in Constantine et al (eds), The First World War in British History

Higgonet, M.et al (eds), Behind the Lines

Marwick, Arthur. The Deluge: British Society and the First World War

Marwick, Arthur. (ed) Total War and Social Change

Pugh, Martin. Women and the Women's Movement in Britain 1914-1959, ch.2

Thom, Deborah. 'Women's Work in World War I' in Winter and Wall (eds), The Upheaval of War

Tylee, C. The Great War and Women's Consciousness: Images of Militarism and Feminism in Women's Writings, 1914-1964

Wollacott, A. On Her Their Lives Depend: Munitions Workers in the Great War

Alberti, J. Beyond Suffrage: Feminists in War and Peace 1914-1918

Inter-War Period

Brivati, B.and Jones, H. (ed), What Difference did the War Make?

Beddoe, D. Women Between the Wars, 1918-1939

Glucksman, Miriam. Women Assemble: Women Workers and the New Industries in Inter-War Britain

Gittins, D. The Fair Sex: Family Size and Structure

Graves, P. M. Labour Women: Women in British Working-Class Politics

Horn, Pamela. Life Below Stairs in the Twentieth Century

Kent, Susan Kingsley. Making Peace: The Reconstruction of Gender in Interwar Britain

Smith, Harold. British Feminism in the Twentieth Century

Thane, 'Pat. Women in the British Labour Party' in Koven and Michel (eds), Mothers of a New World

Thane, Pat. 'What Difference Did the Vote Make?' in Vickery (ed), Women, Privilege and Power