The deadline to propose panels for the 2009 National Women’s Studies Association conference in Atlanta is Feb 15, 2009 (my 40th birthday!)  And among the themes this year is this:

Theme 5: Women’s Studies 40 Years Later: Where Are We Going, Where Have We Been?
Because 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the first WS program in the U.S.  So this occasion marks a pivotal moment in which to reflect on the state of the field and its practices, past and present.  Some questions to start mulling over, from the call for proposals:

  • How are the histories and origin stories of WS as a field and of feminist theory as a body of knowledge (differently) documented, narrated, and conceptualized?
  • Who claims WS, presently and/or historically?  Who disclaims it, presently and/or historically?
  • How has feminist theory been reconceptualized?  What ‘counts’ as feminist theory in WS?
  • Has the feminist subject been adequately reconceived?
  • What do we name ourselves and why?  (e.g., feminist studies, women’s studies, women’s & gender studies)
  • What are some difficulties within WS cross-generationally?  What are some sites of connection across generations?
  • How has the WS curriculum changed, and how does it still need to be transformed, particularly the introductory course (Intro. to WS) and the Feminist Theory course?
  • Are there ways in which WS functions simultaneously as a site of social control as well as a site of resistance and transformation in the academy?

More: NWSA invites all of those interested to submit proposals for panels, papers, workshops, and performances that represent the wide rage of intersectional and transnational scholarship in the US and beyond.  Proposals must address one of their five themes.

Read about the other four themes, and download the complete CFP by going here.