2017 Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities

June 01 - 04, 2017

The site of the infamous Triangle Factory Fire of 1911 serves the city and the nation as a “living memorial.” The memory of the Triangle Fire has been continually renewed and utilized as a touchstone of American history. Even after one hundred years, the fire has not lost its resonance, its power to evoke strong feelings of sadness and anger, but also of hope. Perhaps most consequentially, the Triangle Fire has not lost its relevance, its symbolic power for contemporary political discourse. That the Triangle Factory Fire is still a potent symbol has been the result of persistent efforts on the part of many—activists, unionists, artists, politicians, historians, educators, and citizens—to preserve the memory of this moment in history both as an affirmation of the individual dignity of each worker and as a usable past in the ongoing discourse surrounding labor issues in the US and abroad.

We are proposing a conversation among activists, historians, educators, and scholars about the historiography of the Triangle Fire. This conversation is especially timely as the city is working towards a permanent memorial that will speak to generations about this history. Participants will include scholars and activists who have been working on this public history project for years.

This session will be taped for later broadcast on C-Span.