20 Years

Jane Addams's Twenty Years at Hull-House with Autobiographical Notes is our book for next week. I love this text and it changed--and continues to change--the way that I thought/think about autobiography, myself, my world, the world. It may seem a bit dry at first glance, but give it time and put in the effort. I'd like you to make your way through it in its entirety, but focus especially on the following chapters (you can "read in" the others):

Chap. 1 Earliest Impressions
Chap. 2 Influence of Lincoln
Chap. 3 Boarding School Ideals
Chap. 4 Snare of Preparation
Chap. 5 First Days at Hull-House
Chap. 6 Subjective Necessity...
Chap. 7 Some Early Undertakings...
Chap. 8 Problems of Poverty
Chap. 11 Immigrants and their Children
Chap. 15 The Value of Social Clubs
Chap. 16 Arts at Hull-House
Chap. 18 Socialized Education

I'll be interested to hear about what you think that this text does, how it works, and how it resonates even today. What is the relationship between the autobiography (or "autobiographical notes") and her work toward social justice for immigrants in Chicago.

p.s. Jane Addams had a long history of affiliation with Bryn Mawr. She was the commencement speaker in 1912 and she maintained a working relationship with M. Carey Thomas for many years thereafter.