Beyond Supply & Demand: Duke Economics Students Present 100 Years of American Women’s Suffrage

Student Themes

A photograph of a large room full of students seated at tables looking over material from the archive with tables along the wall with additional archival material

The first instruction session at the Rubenstein Library with the students

Three students around a table all looking closely at books from the archive

Students study potential materials for the exhibit

Four students seated around a table, studying archival material. One student pointing out something on a page to another student.

Students discuss the archival material

A long table with a variety of archival materials on display, including pamphlets and books

Archival materials on suffrage for the Women in the Economy Class

Behind the Scenes: How did thirty-eight economics students end up curating an exhibit on U.S. women’s suffrage, and what was the process like? While numbers and charts might be the first things to come to mind when thinking about economics, it is a social science that intersects with many other disciplines. The Duke class “Women in the Economy” explores the historical and present realities of the status of women as it relates to labor and the economy, the suffrage movement being one important milestone that radically altered women’s economic realities.

To tackle such an expansive topic as American women’s suffrage, the students used a framework consisting of ten themed groups within which to explore the movement including:

Students researched a single archival item in depth and, working together, contextualized how that item tied in with their group theme and the larger story of suffrage.

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