New podcast highlights women in Oxford’s history

A new podcast about women who have played an important part in Oxford’s history has been launched today.

The podcast series, called ‘Women in Oxford’s History’ (WiOH), has been developed by two doctoral students at Oxford University and funded by the University’s AHRC-TORCH Graduate Fund.

Olivia Robinson of the History Faculty and Alison Moulds of the English Faculty have made six podcasts, which can be downloaded for free.

Their aim is to redress the balance of how the history of Oxford’s city and university is told, given that less than a quarter of the city’s blue plaques commemorate women.

Ms Robinson said: ‘The WiOH podcast project highlights the role women have played in Oxford’s history. We have featured women like Rose Potter Clarributt, a long-serving matron at the Radcliffe Infirmary, and Kofoworola Moore, the first black women to earn an Oxford degree.’ Ms Moulds said: ‘We are hoping that the project will raise broader questions about women’s (under)representation in history and inspire others to investigate women’s impact on their own communities and cities.’

The podcasts are aimed at a general audience, from local schoolchildren to community 

groups to international visitors. ‘They might be listened to by a Year 11 student on her way to school, a young professional who listens to podcasts while running, or a retired American tourist planning to explore the city,’ says Ms Robinson.

In-depth research on the stories of the women featured was carried out by Oxford postgraduate students in a range of fields including Anthropology, Creative Writing, Economic, Social and Local History. More information about each individual is available on the project’s website.

The women featured are:

Ida Busbridge, mathematician, tutor and promoter of wider access for women of all backgrounds to study at Oxford.

C. Violet Butler, philanthropist, educator and social researcher of working class lives in Oxford.

Rose Potter Clarributt, long-serving matron at the Radcliffe Infirmary.

Maria Czaplicka, Polish, pioneering anthropologist based at the University of Oxford at the start of the twentieth century.

Kofoworola Moore, the first black woman to earn a degree at the University of Oxford.

Elizabeth Wordsworth, founding principal of Lady Margaret Hall and founder of St Hugh’s College.

For more information or an interview, please contact Olivia Robinson on [email protected]or Alison Moulds on [email protected]

The podcasts can be found on the Oxford podcasts website.

Olivia Robinson is a DPhil History candidate in the History Faculty (Twitter: @TheAncestorian; web: www.oliviarobinson.co.uk)

Alison Moulds is a DPhil English Literature candidate in the English Faculty (Twitter: @alison_moulds). Alison also blogs at victorianclinic.wordpress.com.