Curating Illinois Quaker History – An Interview with Sofia Caruso and Emily Gutknecht

This spring, the IHLC opened The Quakers of Illinois: Social Concerns and Westward Migration, an exhibit exploring the history of the Religious Society of Friends, or the Quakers, in Illinois throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Read about graduate student Sofia Caruso and undergraduate student Emily Gutknecht’s experiences and insights researching and curating the exhibit. How did the idea for the exhibit come about? SC: In the fall of 2023, I began processing new additions to the Illinois Yearly Meeting papers in our Religious Society of Friends collection (MS 960). I was surprised by how involved the Religious Society of Friends had been with social movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for a religious group that is relatively small.… Read More

This spring, the IHLC opened The Quakers of Illinois: Social Concerns and Westward Migration, an exhibit exploring the history of the Religious Society of Friends, or the Quakers, in Illinois throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Read about graduate student Sofia Caruso and undergraduate student Emily Gutknecht’s experiences and insights researching and curating the exhibit.

How did the idea for the exhibit come about?

SC: In the fall of 2023, I began processing new additions to the Illinois Yearly Meeting papers in our Religious Society of Friends collection (MS 960). I was surprised by how involved the Religious Society of Friends had been with social movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for a religious group that is relatively small.… Read More