Terra incognita: women in the expedition archives
This resource focuses on uncovering the hidden histories of women within the Society's Collections. It draws on the Terra incognita Collaborative Doctoral Award research by Sarah Evans.
Below you can watch the short film about women in the expedition archives of the Society. This is followed by a series of questions for self-guided study or to prompt discussion.
Questions for study and discussion
- How were women able to take part in expeditions during this period and what barriers stood in their way?
- To what extent were women’s voices heard in the expeditions discussed?
What objects were discussed in the video? What were they were used for, and by whom? - Why did Dr Evans need to draw on informal records/objects, and what does this imply about the official histories and archives of geographical knowledge production?
- How easy is it to find evidence of women’s past geographical work, and how might you go about this?