This is part one in a three-part series of posts celebrating University Press Week 2018. For more posts from our university press friends, visit the AAUP's blog tour page.

Publishing political history is important not only as a record of the past, but as a means of re-evaluating past political events through a new lens.

In 2018, UBC Press launched a new series, the “Women’s Suffrage and the Struggle for Democracy” series, a celebration of and reassessment of women’s suffrage in Canada. University presses, with our close relationships with universities and researchers, have an important seat on the front lines of academic discourse. We understand the value of disseminating knowledge, not only to the university community but to a broader audience.

With our new suffrage series, we’re diving deeper into a commonly-known Canadian story—that of the history of a woman’s right to vote in Canada—and illuminating the lesser-known parts of that story. And we’ve taken great care to present these books in a way that will resonate with a general, sometimes younger, audience (school boards—we’re looking at you!).

Our first book in the series, One Hundred Years of Struggle by Joan Sangster, released on International Women’s Day earlier this year, provided a general overview of the history of women and the vote. Released earlier this month, Tarah Brookfield’s Our Voices Must Be Heard, focuses on the vote in Ontario. Forthcoming books will similarly focus on specific Canadian regions, and a special volume will be devoted to Indigenous women’s right to vote.

The century-old story of women’s suffrage in Canada can be illuminated by our present understanding and the current political landscape. Today, perhaps more than ever, it’s important to amplify these stories as a reminder of how important it is to fight for and protect our political rights.

For more information about this series, including recent and forthcoming titles, please visit the series page.