What does it mean to excavate overlooked voices in history? How do you go about tracking down obscure, hard-to-find information, placing it in historical context, and then creating a compelling narrative? Join us as we learn from two seasoned researchers and authors, Dana Rubin and Amanda Foreman, who have focused their careers on recovering the lost voices of women throughout history. They will discuss the joys and pitfalls of untold hours spent in archives, digging through resources to find women’s words and make them accessible. Learn how women’s public voices have been crucial to the development of ideas and institutions of our nation—even if the history books have traditionally disregarded them—as we continue to shift how we think about the contributions of women through the centuries. The talk will be followed by a Q&A session.
This is a free hybrid event held both in person at the NYG&B Headquarters and online via Zoom.
About the Presenters
Dana Rubin is a consultant, speechwriter, and speaker who’s on a mission to encourage more women to put their views into the public square. She created the Speaking While Female Speech Bank to broaden our understanding of the role of women orators in history. It’s the world’s largest online archive of women’s speeches from around the world and across time, free for anyone to use. Dana has just published a women’s speech anthology, Speaking While Female: 75 Extraordinary Speeches by American Women, which tells the story of America through the voices of women, from 1637–2021. Dana leads workshops that support women to be thought leaders, subject matter experts, brand ambassadors, and role models for future generations.
Amanda Foreman is the author of the prize-winning best sellers Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and A World on Fire: An Epic History of Two Nations Divided. In 2016, Amanda served as chair of The Man Booker Prize. That same year, her BBC documentary series The Ascent of Woman was released. Amanda has been a columnist for The Sunday Times and the Smithsonian Magazine. Currently, she is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal bi-weekly “Historically Speaking.” Her next book, The World Made by Women: A New History of Humanity, is scheduled to be published by Penguin Random House in 2025. She is also a CBS News royal contributor. Amanda is the chair of the Feminist Institute and is a trustee of the Whiting Foundation. She is on the boards of Americans for Oxford and International Friends of the London Library as well as on the executive board for the Society of American Historians.
Program Support
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
