Dr Jacqui Turner
Dr Jacqui Turner is an Associate Professor in History at the University of Reading.
Research interest
I am broadly interested in C19th and early C20th parliamentary politics and political cultures including gender, early feminism and a mix of working class politics and religion.
My existing research ‘The soul of the Labour Movement’ is a detailed examination of the Victorian morality and spirituality upon which the life of the Labour movement was built and includes the wider contribution of the women’s movement, children’s associations and radical literary traditions. My current research concerns early female pioneers in politics, focusing largely on female MPs between 1919 and 1931 primarily as ‘sex-candidates’. I examine the contribution of early female MPs but also reassess the importance of the 1918 Representation of the People Act on British democracy, in relation to women and the emergence of female politicians – I am particularly interested in Nancy Astor, who was the first female MP to sit in the House of Commons and whose papers are held at the University of Reading.
Astor100: Impact and Public Engagement
I worked with the national Vote100 project on the centenary of the women’s vote in 2018 and local Reading Vote100 projects. I was the national curator for the Astor100 centenary programme from the University of Reading. Astor 100 was a year-long celebration of women in politics, Nancy Astor and her wider legacy. It incorporated a major series of academic and public engagements that took place during 2019 and on into 2020. The Astor archives are held here at the University of Reading Special Collections.As a direct result of curating the National Astor100 programme, I am currently writing on the ‘impact of impact’ and in particular the ‘expert voice’ in the media and on social media.
University of Reading
You can find out more about Jacqui and her work at the university of Reading here Dr Jacqui Turner – History (reading.ac.uk) and her research on Early Women Pioneers in Politics here Dr Jacqui Turner’s story – Department of History, University of Reading