Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

Surviving As Women Artists: Two Art History Sessions, Nancy Porter

Women's Studies Quarterly

A month before Kansas, a long-time women's studies teacher asked me why the Convention was being held. Momentarily taken aback, I realized the answers weren't obvious—not even to me.

Organizationally, surprises can be disastrous. As an approach to the total program of the NWSA's First Annual Convention , openness to surprise served me well. Beyond my obligation to the one panel that brought me, I was free to explore the sunflower array of sessions that I came to understand revolved around a pedagogical center. In our very different styles, we came to teach, to learn, and to interact with one …

Nwsa Steering Committee 1979-80, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

Pat Gozemba...

Kathryn Towns...

Sirlean Newton...

Elizabe th I. Goodman Hallowell...

Jan Meriwether...

Coordinating Council Meetings At The Convention, Kay Towns

Women's Studies Quarterly

The National Women's Studies Association's Coordinating Council met before, during, and after the First NWSA Convention to prepare for and carry out its conference-related responsibilities; to elect its leadership for the coming year; and to begin clarification of priorities, functions, and tasks growing out of the experience of this year's Convention.

These several Council sessions included the participation of newly elected caucus representatives to the Council, and that of many regional Council members-elect, whose formal terms of office will begin at the February 1980 Council meeting. A full listing of the 1980 Council will appear in a forthcoming issue of …

In Defense Of Aid, Kathleen A. Staudt

Women's Studies Quarterly

The trashing of the Agency for International Development and the public scapegoating by my "sisters" at the National Women's Studies Association Convention is an experience which must, I feel, be noted in the annals of the conference.

Recognizing that U.S. women's studies programs tend to be relatively parochial, AID's and, in particular, the Women in Development office's concern was to bring an international development dimension, including the participation of Third World women, to the wide array of panels. On one panel—"U.S. and Third World Women: What Are the Connections?"—were researchers who discussed women in multinational corporations, the changing sex division …

Sessions On Oral History, Betty Burnett

Women's Studies Quarterly

Since feminist historians largely concur that traditional documentation ignores, obscures, and distorts women's lives, nontraditional material logically ought to be a prime resource for women's studies scholars. Nevertheless, the collection, evaluation, and use of oral history pose a number of problems.

At several sessions, participants described the accumulation of material from almost every part of the country that needs to be organized, analyzed, and indexed. So far, oral history projects have been primarily regional and therefore not granted the prestige that national projects have received. Most of the women interviewed are "ordinary"—not well educated, not politically active, not considered economically …

A Third World Woman's View Of The Convention, Nupur Chaudhuri

Women's Studies Quarterly

By most accepted criteria, the First NWSA Convention qualifies as a resounding success. The more than 1,000 people who attended could select from 246 sessions representing a wide range of topics in two general groups: (a) women's studies research in literature, feminist theory, art, etc.; (b) issues for women's programs and pedagogy, including teaching and curriculum administration. The Program Committee (Emily Abel, Deborah Rosenfelt, and Peg Strobel) put together an ambitious and successful series of sessions. Yet, as a feminist and a long-time supporter of women's studies, I also came away with an uneasy feeling.

Impressions Of Kansas, Maryjo Wagner

Women's Studies Quarterly

Those of us involved in the machinery and politics of the Convention and of our regions were the ones to whom complaints were registered. We were the ones who heard the concerns of caucuses, the ones who listened anxiously to angry voices at the microphones during the Delegate Assembly, the ones who took notes at the final evaluation session. Distressed by the anger we heard and exhausted from the hectic pace, we reacted defensively. After all, we had worked hard. We deserved strokes, not criticism. Maybe the Convention was not perfect, but we did try, and it was, after all, …

Notes On The Student Caucus At Kansas, Susannah Bright

Women's Studies Quarterly

Approximately 50 students from around the country attended the recent NWSA Convention in Kansas. The majority met one another for the first time at meetings of the Student Caucus there. Several major issues were identified in the course of our caucus discussions:...

Reflections On The Convention, Christine Grella

Women's Studies Quarterly

Looking back at the Convention, I find myself exhilarated—but also confronted with the issues and questions that were raised. Would our differences divide us irreparably, or would they be our source of strength? Could we attain our stated purpose of encompassing the needs of diverse groups: community educators, elementary and secondary school teachers, staff, students, community and four-year college instructors—each with different experiences of women's studies?

Notes On The Lesbian Caucus At Kansas, Nan Cinnater

Women's Studies Quarterly

Members of the Lesbian Caucus spent hundreds of hours at Lawrence working to ensure that the caucus can become a viable, active network for lesbians in women's studies all over the country. Accomplishments included the formation of a fourteen-member steering committee, a fundraising committee, and a taskforce to compile and distribute to NWSA members educational materials on lesbianism. Plans include a newsletter, national networking through liaisons with the NWSA regions, and international networking and support through international periodicals and organizations. (We thought we ought to start with relatively modest goals.)

Notes On The Staff Caucus At Kansas, Barbara Parker

Women's Studies Quarterly

Have you ever overheard someone refer to an office worker as "my" secretary or "my" work-study student? When the possessive pronoun is used in a feminist workplace, what does it imply about relationships? Are links between feminist practice and principle being affirmed or denied? The question of hierarchical language was one of many practical and pedagogical issues shared by staff, faculty, students, and others during the NWSA Convention.

Nwsa Calendar, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

October 5-7, 1979

Northwest Women's Studies Association Conference, University of Idaho, Moscow. Contact Sue Armitage, Women's Studies Program, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163, and/or Allayne Hannaford, Women's Center, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83843, Conference Coordinators.

Feminist Periodicals, Barbara Parker

Women's Studies Quarterly

As Kate Stimpson, of Signs, pointed out at a session on feminist periodicals that took place in Kansas, few, if any, of the current feminist periodicals can survive if people replace this year's subscription to a feminist art journal with next year's subscription to a feminist literary magazine.

Those who attended the Convention could not leave unaware of financial worries that burden every type of women's studies project. A collective groan, for example, greeted the woman who reported that her Women's Studies Program receives a budget of $9,000. While she considered that a paltry figure, most of those who …

Editorial, Florence Howe, Elaine Reuben

Women's Studies Quarterly

COOPERATION AND COMMUNICATION

Those of us who work in feminist programs and woman-centered institutions in many different educational settings recognize the increasing need for cooperation and communication. Thanks to Barnard College (and the support of the Rockefeller Foundation), an exceptionally diverse group of women in higher education in the Northeast recently had an opportunity to share information and discuss strategies for the coming decades. The Barnard Conference confirmed, not only informally but in the Conference Resolutions we have printed below, the need for and the commitment to collaborative strategies for the future.

Introduction, Leonore Hoffman

Women's Studies Quarterly

The project "Teaching Women's Literature from a Regional Perspective" was developed in 1976 by the Modern Language Association Commission on the Status of Women in the Profession and has been supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. The major goal of the project is to improve the teaching of literature through involving students directly in conducting research on the letters, diaries, journals, oral testimonies, and "lost" published literature of the women of their region. Courses have been developed in a number of colleges and universities throughout the country in which students have explored local archives in public …

From The National Office, Elaine Reuben

Women's Studies Quarterly

In lieu of my usual quarterly report on the work of the National Office—some of which is reflected in the news of this issue—it seemed appropriate in this pre-Convention column to share the substance of one activity. The following statement made on behalf of NWSA was my response to a request from Senator Harrison A. Williams, Jr., for testimony before the Senate Committee on Human Resources. This sort of public presence is one aspect of NWSA's function as a national voice for feminist education. Our purpose as an organization is not only to share experiences and information among ourselves but …

Women In High School U.S. History Texts: Where Are The Changes?, Sandy Weinbaum

Women's Studies Quarterly

In 1974, The Feminist Press conducted a survey of U.S. high school history texts to find out how women were portrayed. The authors' findings corroborated those of similar studies of high school and college texts: history was the history of men-primarily white and middle class-as reported and interpreted by men; women were invisible, or, if visible, were the objects of stereotyping or the occasion for comic relief.

In 1978 ten members of the Feminist Press staff formed a research group to update that study. We wanted to know if publishers had been affected by the women's movement and, in particular, …

Finding New Forms: Student Autonomy In A Patriarchal University, Barbara Hillyer Davis

Women's Studies Quarterly

"Oklahoma Women" was a year-long experimental seminar at the University of Oklahoma designed to teach research skills and to discover what a few women could learn in a short time about the literature and history of the women of our region. In the first semester, we did research on Oklahoma women, and in the second, public programming based on that research Students learned directly how to do research in the humani ties and did individual work on research projects and group work on the public programs. A photographic exhibit for a local conference on women's work, a community-wide series of …

Front Matter, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Readers' Speakout, Bella Zweig

Women's Studies Quarterly

Dear Women's Studies Newsletter:

In her article in the Fall 1978 issue of the Newsletter on the history of the Berkshire Conference, Alison Bernstein mentioned that the Coordinating Council of Women in the Historical Profession (CCWHP) would present a resolution to the Council of the American Historical Association (AHA) that unless the Council agreed to boycott states that have not ratified the ERA, the membership of the AHA would withhold their dues in protest.

Applying Feminist Approaches To Learning And Research: A Practical Curriculum Model, Ann C. Carver

Women's Studies Quarterly

By "Feminist Approaches to Learning" I mean a process of "breaking the accustomed mold" of established learning (to use Florence Howe's language). I mean learning to take the risk of questioning knowledge itself, using the creative expressions of women's cultures for the subject of study, and drawing upon the positive "ways of doing" in women's cultures for classroom and research methods.

The three operating principles for my course in "Teaching Women's Literature from a Regional Perspective" grow out of this approach. Those principles are: (1) intense, nonfragmented involvement of the whole person in the creative act of study; (2) sharing, …

Back Matter, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Newsbriefs, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Convention Update, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

By now, many of you will have already registered for the upcoming NWSA Convention in Lawrence, Kansas. The Convention promises to be a memorable one, including:

-over 100 sessions on research, theory, and practice of women's studies in colleges and universities, secondary schools, and the community across the country and abroad;

-displays and exhibits of feminist wares and publications;

-feminist theater, poets, and musicians (including Bernice Reagan, Meg Christian Audre Lorde, Arna Ata Aidoo, Ivy Bottini, At the Foot of the Mountain, the Woman's Collage Theater, the Women's Experimental Theater, and others);

-an exhibition of women's art and crafts and …

Women's Centers At The University Of Texas/Arlington: A Model For Growth, Jeanne Ford, Barbara Brown

Women's Studies Quarterly

The University of Texas at Arlington offers unique educational services for women through three administratively separate but collaborating programs that focus on women's interests and needs. These programs, each with its own coordinator, are officially designated as the Center for Women's Studies, the Women's Center, and Transitions: Displaced Homemakers Center.

Women's studies at UTA is not at present a formal program. The courses are offered through receptive academic departments. Women's studies faculty and students are engaged in research, teaching, and learning with an academic orientation and are consultants to and participants in activities at the Women's Center. It is a …

Antebellum Black Coeds At Oberlin College, Ellen Henle, Marlene Merrill

Women's Studies Quarterly

Nearly a year ago, we began collecting information on the first Black women students at Oberlin College from 1835 through 1865. The impetus for this project came from Professor Gerda Lerner, who, on a visit to Oberlin, remarked that she suspected there was considerable material in the Oberlin College archives which could tell us a great deal about women who have been overlooked or ignored. We decided to work as a team researching Black women in the archives: one of us had had some on-the-job archival training; and the other, a recent Ph.D. in nineteenth-century American history, had taught women's …

The Feminist Women's Health Center In West Berlin, Mary Grunwald

Women's Studies Quarterly

Last November the Berlin Feminist Women's Health Center (Feministisches Frauen Gesundheitszentrum: FFGZ) called a press conference to mark the first year in its own quarters, pleasantly converted former bakery premises in a quiet, residential part of town. Fifty invitations had been sent out to women journalists; four showed up. Three reacted enthusiastically; one was hostile. When all was said and done and people were on their way out, someone brought up the subject of contraception again.

Most FFGZ clients come for contraceptive advice; many are primarily interested in the diaphragm—invented in Germany in 1880 but virtually unknown in the country …

A Sampling Of Regional And Caucus Reports To The February Cc Meeting, The Feminist Press

Women's Studies Quarterly

MIDWEST REGIONAL REPORT

The Midwest has continued its efforts toward strengthening regional and national membership, adopting a constitution, and planning for the National Convention to be held in our region from May 30 to June 3, 1979, at Lawrence, Kansas . ... At the October steering committee meeting we decided to postpone a regional meeting until after the national meeting .... At the Overland Park, Kansas, steering committee meeting, April 14-15, we had hashed out the state versus regional orientation of the group, taking into account that Iowa had opted not to send a representative. We had also discussed guidelines …

Women's Studies Research Centers: Report From West Germany, Hanna-Beate Schöpp-Schilling

Women's Studies Quarterly

The German autonomous women's movement grew out of the student movement in the late sixties. Today, there are women's centers in most of the larger German cities. The women active in these centers have created a variety of projects, such as homes for battered women, bookstores, publishing firms, restaurants, journals, and health clinics. In addition, there are numerous women's groups in the political parties, the trade unions, the media, and other organizations—apart from the traditional women's organizations—who work for the elimination of discrimination against women without necessarily identifying themselves with all the tenets of radical feminists. A gradual rapprochement of …

Report From The February 4/1/1979 Coordinating Council Meeting, Elizabeth Baer

Women's Studies Quarterly

As regional and caucus representatives gathered for the opening session of the semiannual NWSA Coordinating Council meeting on the College Park campus of the University of Maryland on February 15, they were asked to respond to two questions in introducing themselves: "What is your vision of the future of NWSA?" and "Have you and/or your program paid your 1979 dues?" Juxtaposed, the questions reflected the experience of the organization in its first two years—encompassing the idealism of NWSA's founding and the pragmatic exigencies of supporting national organization. The questions, asked and answered on Susan B. Anthony's birthday, began a meeting …