Nick

On January 11, our class visited the Women’s Library Reading Room at the London School of Economics. We were provided the opportunity to see several boxes of archival documents. Through these documents, I could see the Modernist and progressive ideals of Bloomsbury come to life. 

I chose to analyze a scientific paper titled “The Physique of Women in Industry,” from 1983. The article was exclusively typed in a booklet that featured a symbol from the Medical Research Council and a subheading indicating the research was performed through the approval of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board. The booklet showed signs of wear as demonstrated through creases and water damage but was still in readable condition. The article featured research done to inform the maximum load that women can bear in the industrial workforce. This research was done through comparisons of anthropometric measurements, physiologic response, and strategies of loading technique. Recommended loads were established, however many industries often place higher loads on their workers which place them at a heightened risk of injury.

It was interesting to see a calculated, methodical approach to this problem. The level of scientific innovation utilized in this study reminded me of the approach Keynes in his Economic Consequences of Peace. Keynes was seen as revolutionary due to being the first of his time to analyze politics and war through an empirical, economic lens. This is seen in the preface of the work in which Keynes writes, “The grounds of his objection to the Treaty, or rather to the whole policy of the Conference towards the economic problems of Europe, will appear…”1 Keynes and the researchers Industrial Fatigue Research Board utilized their strengths to develop a sound argument for their beliefs. Seeing an experiment drawn out to provide concrete evidence for optimum loading felt very innovative and modern and I believe this approach to problem solving would be approved of by the Bloomsbury Group.