Science, Gender, and Internationalism

Born out of the optimism of the Paris Peace Conference, the formation of the League of Nations, and the fight for women's suffrage in Britain and the United States, the International Federation of University Women was founded in 1919 and consciously set out to reshape interwar society. In pursuit of [...]
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Born out of the optimism of the Paris Peace Conference, the formation of the League of Nations, and the fight for women's suffrage in Britain and the United States, the International Federation of University Women was founded in 1919 and consciously set out to reshape interwar society. In pursuit of sweeping professional and social change, the IFUW brought together women throughout the world who were passionately committed to promoting higher education as a means of achieving international understanding. It launched an international academic women's network to achieve these objectives, weaving together personal friendships and professional contacts across national and ideological divisions hardened by the unprecedented ordeal of global conflict. By 1930, the IFUW had 24,000 members and had expanded to thirty nations. In this fascinating transnational study, Christine von Oertzen traces the IFUW's rise in the international arena and the decline of its scientific internationalism in the Cold War era, making a valuable contribution to the cultural histories of diplomacy and intellectual exchange.