Discover the KvinnSam archives

Our archive collections span from the mid-19th century to the present day. Discover the breadth of KvinnSam's archives, where under each main theme you'll find sub-themes such as international development, art, poetry, religion, social life, feminist activism, the temperance movement, the LGBTQI movement, crafts and sculpture, domestic labour, and more. Ask us if you are looking for material on a particular theme that isn't listed here – it's probably somewhere in the collections!

Archive Collections

Activism and Politics

Women have played a significant role in both national and international political and activist movements. KvinnSam’s collections illustrate the breadth and longevity of activism over 150 years, a period marked by two world wars and the Cold War. Many of these movements span the turn of the century right up to the present day.

Second-wave feminism

During the 1960s and 1970s, there was growing interest in women’s status in society. The second-wave feminism began in the…

Second World War

On this page, you will find a selection of archive material relating to the Second World War, which is held in the KvinnSam…

The Peace Movement

The women’s movement and the peace movement have always been closely linked. On this page, you will find a selection of…

First World War

The Environmental Movement

The Temperance Movement

On this page, you will find a selection of items from the archives relating to the temperance movement, which are held in…

International development and philanthropy

On this page, you will find a selection of documents relating to international development and philanthropy, which are held…

The Suffrage Movement

On this page, you will find a selection of items from the archives relating to the suffrage movement, which are held in the…

Work and professions

Certain professions and fields of work are important but not particularly prominent in our collections. Here, we highlight a number of professions that make up a significant part of our collections. Professions not featured here may be found under other themes.

Female workers

On this page, you’ll find samples of archival materials related to blue-collar occupations, which are available in the…

Housework

On this page, you’ll find samples of archival materials related to housework, which are available in the KvinnSam archives.

Librarians

This collection brings together archives from librarians, along with KvinnSam’s own archive, the Women’s History Archive…

Women in business

On this page, you’ll find a selection of materials on women’s entrepreneurship from the KvinnSam archives.

Journalists

On this page, you’ll find samples of journalists’ archives from the KvinnSam collection.

Union work

On this page, you’ll find samples of archival materials related to union work, which are available in KvinnSam’s archival…

Politicians

On this page, you’ll find samples of records related to politicians that are available in KvinnSam’s archives.

Family, health and home economics

The modern women’s movement emphasised that the personal is political. These sections of the collections demonstrate how private and public discussions concerning family, children, health and the household permeate the KvinnSam collections.

Children & parenting

On this page, you will find a selection of materials from the archives on children and parenting, which are held in the…

Sport & outdoor activities

On this page, you will find a selection of materials relating to sport and outdoor activities from the KvinnSam archive…

Physicians

On this page, you’ll find a selection of physicians’ archives from the KvinnSam collection.

Food & Home Economics

On this page, you will find a selection of items from the archives that relate in various ways to food and home economics,…

Sexual health

On this page, you will find a selection of items from the archives that relate in various ways to sexual health and…

Nurses

On this page, you’ll find a selection of archives relating to the nursing profession from the KvinnSam collection.

Gothenburg

KvinnSam’s location in Gothenburg has shaped our collections! There is much to learn about Gothenburg’s history in our collections. Here is a selection of themes that might be fun to explore.

Second-wave feminism in Gothenburg

Branch associations

University of Gothenburg

On this page, you will find a selection of archives linked to University of Gothenburg, which are held in the KvinnSam…

Prominent women from Gothenburg

On this page, you will find a selection of archives of famous women from Gothenburg, which is available in the KvinnSam…

LGBTQI+ in Gothenburg

On this page, you will find a selection of materials related to LGBTQI+ in Gothenburg, which are held in KvinnSam’s archive…

Education in Gothenburg

Social life in Gothenburg

Culture & Religion

The collections contain material from a wide range of artists, writers and creators. Here you’ll find our best-known archives, those of Elin Wägner and Barbro Alving. But there’s even more to discover! See also those who have worked on picture books in the sub-theme ‘Children & Parenting’.

Film

On this page, you will find a selection of film-related archives from the KvinnSam archive collections.

Women's shelters

On this page, you will find a selection of archive material on the theme of women’s shelters, which can be found among…

Religion

On this page, you will find a selection of archive materials relating to religion and theology, which are held in the…

Authors

On this page, you will find a selection of archives of authors, available in the KvinnSam archive collections.

Music

On this page, you will find a selection of archives related to music, which are part of KvinnSam’s archive collections.

Social life

On this page, you will find a selection of materials from the archives relating to women’s societies and women’s social life…

Art & artists

On this page, you will find samples of archives of by artists and art associations, which are held in the KvinnSam archive…

Poets

On this page, you will find a selection of archives of poets, available in the KvinnSam archive collections.

Textile handicraft

On this page, you will find a selection of archives relating to handicrafts, arts and crafts and textile art, which are held…

Education and research

KvinnSam has a wealth of archives relating to education and research, not least because we are based at a university library. Here you will find material on educational opportunities for women, how women have experienced their education over the years, and historical material on women’s, gender and feminist research.

Academics

Academic societies & journals

Girls' schools

On this page, you will find a selection of archive material on the theme of girls’ schools, which is available in the…

Adult education & lifelong learning

On this page, you will find a selection of archive materials relating to adult education and lifelong learning, which are…

KvinnSam

On this page, you will find a selection of archive material relating to KvinnSam’s own activities.

Teachers

Scholarships & grants