Social settlement houses: the educated women of Glasgow and Chicago

Breaking new ground on a neglected topic, the book examines Progressivism as an international historical movement between 1870 and 1918. The chapters, written by international experts, challenge scholars to utilise a transnational approach to gain a better understanding of how Progressivism transformed western industrial societies. My chapter examines the unique contribution to the reform effort in settlement houses of female graduates and students now enjoying the benefits of higher education for the first time. The part focus of the chapter on the Scottish experience of settlement challenges the London-centric historiography. The chapter draws from archives in Glasgow, Boston and Chicago