Temporary Exhibition: 14 February to 31 July 2012
“The world wants disarmament. The world needs disarmament. We have it in our power to help fashion the pattern of future history. [...] For if we fail, no one can foretell the evil consequences that might ensue.”
By these words, on 2 February 1932, Arthur Henderson, President of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, opened the debates at the League of Nations in Geneva. The first disarmament conference of this scale was broadly supported by civil society from all over the world, nurturing the hopes of a public opinion deeply affected by the scars of the First World War.
The delegates of 64 nations stood at a crossroads: either pursue efforts to maintain peace by collective security and reduction of armaments, as mandated by the 1919 Covenant of the League of Nations, or stand firm on the principle of sovereignty, which could only lead to an arms race.
History shows the tragic consequences of the latter choice, made against a background of economic crisis and the radicalization of political ideologies. However, after the shock of the Second World War, it is on a renewed foundation, within a different context, that the United Nations continues multilateral negotiations.
The exhibition Fashioning Future History, by showing the importance of past experiences under the League of Nations, highlights the perseverance of United Nations Member States in pursuing efforts towards disarmament.
For more information, go here.
Now that the first release of Women and Social Movements, International is online and freely available for the month of February, I thought WIG subscribers might share tips about its navigation. The link to that free site is http://alexanderstreet.com/aha.htm. Check it out. The first release includes 30,000 pages of the eventual 150,000. Any site as large as that is also complex. I’ve visited its main features and would be happy to share what I’ve learned. WIG could be a way we could help one another explore WASM-I. Over the coming weeks, I can comment on various search techniques if you will also share your experiences. What can we find in this first release? What search methods work best? I look forward to hearing from you. Kristen Gwinn.
“Backed by a global editorial board of 130 leading scholars, Women and Social Movements, International is a landmark collection of primary materials drawn from more than 300 repositories. Assembled and cross-searchable for the first time, these resources illuminate vast areas of modern history. Through the writings of women activists, their personal letters and diaries, and the proceedings of conferences at which pivotal decisions were made, Women and Social Movements, International lets you see how women’s social movements shaped much of the events and attitudes that have defined modern life. To the present, women’s international organizations have focused on issues related to peace, poverty, child labor, literacy, disease prevention, and global inequality. Only by exploring traditions of women’s activism can we reach a full understanding of modern society and history.” – from Alexander Street Press
Women in World History from the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University