Honors Course Designs Display on Women's Suffrage Movement

Ahead of Election Day, students in Gwynedd Mercy University's Honors Program created an interactive display about the Women's Suffrage Movement of the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

Each student in the "HON210: Brave New Words" course was assigned a specific suffragist/suffragette or topic to research and produced content for their posters which explained their figure’s biography, contributions to the Women’s Suffrage movement, and rhetorical strategies. The class worked together to construct the posters and then collaborated with the Keiss Library to construct a display.

"We hope the display helps raise awareness of the decades of effort, protest, demonstration, and physical and emotional harm the suffragists and suffragettes endured to ensure that women today could vote freely and fairly in elections," Elizabeth Knauss, PhD, Assistant Professor of English and Writing Program Coordinator said. "The class hopes the display inspires everyone who visits to honor the sacrifices of the movement by getting out to vote."

The second half of the semester will focus on the Civil Rights Movement and the movement to improve LGBTQ+ rights. Finally, the class will examine the impact of social media on more recent social justice movements, such as #metoo and Black Lives Matter. The course concludes with a research project into a current social justice movement, and asks the question how recent developments in Generative Artificial Intelligence (such as ChatGPT) might impact those social justice movements.

"Learning about the Suffrage Movement through its timeline and powerful symbolism has offered our class a unique perspective on how history is shaped by activism. By studying key events and the symbols used by suffragists—such as colors, sunflowers, and imagery—I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the role symbolism plays in the unity and evolution of social justice movements," Katie Mirarchi, Senior Biology and Honors Program student said. "I hope our glittery depictions of the movement make this historical journey more engaging and accessible to students, sparking meaningful conversations across campus."

You can check out the interactive display in Keiss Library through Election Day.