Overview
In this four-week activity, we will learn historical thinking skills using the women’s suffrage movement of the U.S. as the example. As the women’s suffrage movement is a broad topic and we have limited time, we will focus on the images such as posters and postcards and the messages they sent to the public during the movement period as the base for our learning and exercises.
Women's suffrage in the United States of America, the legal right of women to vote, was established over the course of more than half a century, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920. So, how did the women succeed? How did they use images, such as posters and their clothing, to convey their messages to the public? Why were the organizations that opposed women’s suffrage led and supported by women too? After finishing this historical-thinking activity, you will be able to answer these questions, gain the ability to analyze other historical issues and think like a historian!
Learning Outcomes:
1.You will be able to demonstrate critical thinking skills by analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating multiple sources.
2. You will produce well researched written work that engages with both primary sources and secondary literature.
3. You will develop an informed familiarity with the U.S women’s suffrage movement.
4. You will develop an ability to convey verbally through discussion, debate, and presentation.
5. You will demonstrate your creativity and understanding of history in a new level in the final project period.
Schedule:
In the first week, you will learn the brief history of the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S. and discover some interesting ways the women fought for or against women’s voting rights! It’s in the exhibition area of this site.
In the second week, we will pick a few images and analyze them together. What messages did they convey? How can you tell these? Are they understandable for a person living in the 21st century? If not, how do you understand these images in the historical context?
In the third week, you will have the opportunity to practice synthesizing, analyzing and evaluating the historical images on your own and then exchange your ideas with your classmates in the group discussion. You will find many interesting ideas that are different from yours and you will solve problems like a real historian!
In the fourth week, you will have another fun activity by creating the work to show your historical thinking skills. Based on your knowledge of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement, you can write a letter, create a poster, design a postcard or even write a play, imagining you are a person in the period. In this role play, please be specific about your identity because people in different positions have different views of the women’s suffrage. You can also compare and contrast the similarities and difference between women’s suffragists and the women today. If they do the same thing such as designing a poster or writing a letter to advocate for women’s voting rights, what strategies would they use? Might there be any difference? Why? In brief, your final project can take a great variety of forms as long as you show your historical thinking skills!