Register
If you haven’t already, register to start contributing news and events, and to search the Member Directory. Registration is free, but only open to current members of the American Studies Association.
Group Members
The following people are members of this group:
The following people are administrators of this group:
Member Tools
We're sorry. You are not yet a member of the Women’s Committee.
Register or login to join this group.
MAIN | Reports | Contact
Women’s Committee
Report of the Women’s Committee
Over the past year, the Women’s Committee has continued well-established commitments in two areas: collaborative programming with the Minority Scholars’ Committee; and support for the initiative on behalf of international women in ASA, in conjunction with the International Women’s Task Force of ASA, Chaired by Jeannie Pfaelzer. In addition, moving in a new direction, the Committee will focus on issues of disability and the field of disability studies at the 1997 convention; and they warmly support the formation of an ASA caucus on disability.
When the Committee first began meeting with the Minority Scholars’ Committee (MSC) almost three years ago, encouraged by John Stephens and the Executive Committee, they had two goals in mind: to assure that minority women’s voices and concerns were integral to our deliberations and programming; and to promote policies and initiatives in further support of equity and diversity in the Association and the profession. On both fronts, the time spent together—at a weekend “retreat” each year and at joint Committee meetings during conventions—has been provocative, constructive, and unfailingly collegial.
The Kansas City 1996 Women’s Luncheon, co-sponsored by the MSC, on the theme of “Affirmative Action Faces the 21st Century,” was one of those occasions in which history, theory, and praxis were stunningly joined. In their analyses, the two panelists, Ellen Messer-Davidoff and David Gutierrez (replacing Renato Rosaldo who was ill), stressed creative strategies for overcoming the current wave of backlash—especially in the construction of new alliances and the sharing of resources. The panelists’ tales of campus and organizational collaboration were a source of inspiration to the audience and to both committees.
In January 1997 at an overnight “retreat” in Maryland, the two committees returned to the issues underlying the Kansas City luncheon. With powerful leadership from MSC Chair Alvina Quintana, they took the position that coalition building among the various Americanist constituencies (Ethnic Studies, Gender Studies and American Studies programs) is essential to a shared liberal/progressive agendas. The session the Women’s Committee is co-sponsoring with the MSC at the DC 1997 convention, “Coalition or Collision: Territory, Difference, and the Institution,” conveys the sense of the urgency of this undertaking--not so much for the health of ASA (its vigor and strength are visible in the membership count, rich programming, and services to members), but for the future of the field.
The Women’s Committee has continued its close involvement with the ASA International Women’s Task Force. The session sponsored by the WC at Kansas City 1996, “Global/Local Intersections: International Conversations on Women’s Issues and Feminist Work in American Studies,” produced some excellent papers and highly nuanced discussion. In terms of the Committee’s “thinking,” the session marked a turning point: the transnational inflection is now firmly in their discourse and they feel the richer for it. It is worth noting here that a session at the European Association for American Studies Meeting in Lisbon this coming April 1998, will replicate the Kansas City “intersections” model.
The Women’s Committee is delighted that Nell Painter will be the featured speaker at the Washington, DC Women’s Breakfast. In view of the Committee’s transnational interests, they are also delighted that she has chosen as her subject “Why There Is No Women’s Studies in France.” This breakfast is co-sponsored by the Minority Scholars’ Committee.
In planning for the Washington meeting, the Women’s Committee has benefited from the dedication and steady labor of Rosemarie Thomson, a scholar and activist in the field of disability studies. Their principle session (also co-sponsored by the MSC),"Disability and the Cultures of Women,” encompasses the varied realm of public policy, family, personal experience, epistemology and performance art. They are co-sponsoring a second session, “Vital Signs: Crip Culture Talks Back,” which features a prize-winning documentary video on the social construction of disability. A third session, “The Reflections of a Black Deaf Woman: a one-woman show by Michelle Banks” (not officially co-sponsored by the Women’s Committee), provides yet another route of access to the worlds of disability and their place in the study of American culture/s.
The Women’s Committee believes that ASA has provided unusual support for and recognition of women in its policies and activities, but that this is no cause for complacency. There are women in ASA who are underemployed. There are women without academic employment. The social construction of gender operates to the disadvantage of professional women; and in the several fields, particular departments and institutions in which ASA women work, the goals of equity and diversity are, at best, unevenly realized. As ASA continues to grow, women in the Association are certain to remain visible, numerous and quite diverse. Given the organizational framework and the dispiriting realities of academe, collaborative enterprises may provide the most effective ways of being heard and making a difference.
Quick Links
American Quarterly [official journal site]
American Quarterly [editorial site]
Add Your Comment