Good Afternoon,

So the first thing I would love to share is the link for my newest post!

http://wla-archives.tumblr.com/

Please check it out and learn about the interesting life of Mary Agnes Curran, OSF.

As I mentioned last week, I have begun working on my newest project which focuses on the history of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). This organization has been around for almost a century and our own Jane Addams, founder of the Hull House, was instrumental in the creation of the WILPF. This group actually met in Holland for the first time, but their main offices are in New York City, New York and Geneva, Switzerland. Today, they are present in thirty-seven countries! WILPF has promoted global cooperation and women’s equality and empowerment since its founding. Unfortunately, the branch in Chicago ceased operation in 1995, but there is still a good amount of material at Piper Hall that speaks to the work they did. My job for this week and the following is to sort through their material. Thus far, I have been reading through some of the correspondence letters and what I am beginning to look at are events and various political activism papers. In total, there is a selection of newsletters, mailings, meeting minutes, Principles and Policies, promotional materials, programs and events, newspaper clippings and political activism papers. Also present are newspaper clippings and promotional materials for other women’s groups. I am extremely excited to delve into the information and create a display that highlights the contributions this organization has made. I especially do not want to forget that the WILPF focused on several prevailing political issues, including nuclear disarmament, Cold War and post-Cold War international relations, reduction of Defense spending and funding of domestic human-needs programs, peace in the Middle East, and racism. Although the information stored in Piper Hall may be more restricted since many of these problems were international, I will still dedicate a substantial amount of time to investigating any participation the Chicago branch had.


Please wait patiently as I begin to research this international organization.

Jane Addams

 Image provided by: http://www.nndb.com/people/495/000082249/jane-addams-3.jpg

Information provided by The Women and Leadership Archives.