Women of the World: The Rise of the Female Diplomat
Helen McCarthy, Queen Mary, University of London

• Monday 16 June 2014, 6.15PM to 7.15pm
• Free admission
  Booking required
• Berrick Saul Building, University of York (map|getting to campus)

Event details

In this talk, historian Helen McCarthy, will tell the story of personal and professional struggle against the dramatic backdrop of war, super-power rivalry and global transformation over the last century and a half. From London to Washington, Geneva to Tehran, and in the deserts of Arabia, the souks of Damascus and the hospitals of Sarajevo, resolute women undaunted by intransigent officials and hostile foreign governments proved their worth.

Moved by a longing to escape domestic redundancy, to follow in the footsteps of fathers or brothers, to build a more peaceful world, to discover cultures other than their own or simply to serve the nation which denied them full equality, these women were extraordinary individuals fighting prejudice in high places. Drawing on letters, memoirs, personal interviews and government records, these heroines caught up in the larger endeavours of the world’s greatest empire are brought vividly to life to enrich our understanding of Britain’s global history in modern times.

About the speaker:

Helen McCarthy is Senior Lecturer in History at Queen Mary, University of London. She studied as an undergraduate at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, and as a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University. She worked briefly for the think-tank Demos before embarking on doctoral studies at the University of London. Her first book, The British People and the League of Nations (Manchester University Press, 2011), explores the vibrant popular cultures of internationalism in inter-war Britain. Before taking up her post at Queen Mary, Helen was a Research Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge. She lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

Follow @historianhelen on Twitter

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible

Tickets