The Berkshire Conference: What To Do, What To See, What To Wear
In the introduction to her classic volume of essays, Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America (Oxford: 1986), Carroll Smith-Rosenberg wrote:
"The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians has proved one of the pivotal influences in my professional and personal life. Through both formal and informal comments on a succession of papers, Berkshire members have contributed to my development as a woman historian and as a historian of women."
Second that.
By tonight, participants in the 15th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women will have begun to assemble for this year's event, “Generations: Exploring Race, Sexuality, and Labor across Time and Space.” The conference begins at the UNiversity of Massachusetts-Amherst on Thursday June 9. It ends on Sunday June 12, a day devoted to seminar-style discussions organized around papers submitted in advance. Undecided? Living nearby and thinking of dropping in for the day? On site registrations are welcome. Congratulations to president Kathleen Brown, her program chairs, and everyone else who worked hard to put this together. By this time Thursday, you will all be watching it unfold before you. As a former program chair, let me say that is a glorious feeling. (And Sue Porter Benson? I miss you tonight.)
A commonly asked question is: Are men welcome? Answer: Humans of all genders are welcome. I don't think Tom Dublin has missed a Berkshire Conference ever. Tom and his partner, women's history legend Kathryn Kish Sklar will be recruiting for their web-based project, "Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000," so if you see one of them walk by, tell them you're interested, and say that Tenured Radical sent you. Other male-bodied folk to keep your eyes out for are Shane Landrum of Cliotropic fame (who is on a great state of the field roundtable on transgender history on Saturday at 3:30); Robert Beachy, who has a forthcoming book on gay Berlin (do I see Joan Scott as a comment on that global heteronormativities panel?); political science prof Paisley Currah, who is presenting in a Sunday seminar on his hot project about pregnant men; and many more. OK, well a dozen more, actually. So this will be practically the only place where history is practiced that men will find themselves in a distinct minority, which is one reason -- if you are a cool feminist man -- to attend.
What should I wear? I am the wrong person to ask, as anyone who knows me would testify. As I write, my black tee shirts are neatly piled across the room next to two pairs of jeans and a pair of black cowboy boots. The ethic is summer casual: there's no need to look "professional," in the conventional sense, and don't wear anything that is going to be ruined by sitting in the grass, blowing off the panel you were going to attend, and talking to a new friend.
Also recommended for this weekend? Sunglasses, sunscreen, a broad-brimmed hat, sandals, and dancing shoes for the Saturday night shindig. If you are staying in a place that is not air-conditioned, purchase a small fan on your way in from the airport. There are plenty of places to shop in the vicinity, but be warned: the UMass campus is a good hike from the town of Amherst itself.
Registration opens at 8:30 AM tomorrow in the campus center, is open until 8:00 PM and the program starts at 3:30. I'm partial to round tables, and will be choosing between the following tomorrow:
"What's So Feminist About Food History?" with Hasia Diner, and Franca Iacovetta, the next president of the Berkshire Conference in its big move to Toronto in 2014.
"New Generations of Feminist Legal History," which features some great new research by Leigh Ann Wheeler on the ACLU's fight for sexual freedom in the 20th century.
"Peyton Place: Selling Sex and Crafting Readers," with Ardis Cameron who wrote a preface for a brand new edition of the novel that became a synonym for small, petty history departments New England towns.
And of course, you must attend the star-studded opening plenary, with Kathleen Brown, Martha S. Jones and Rebecca Scott, from 7:30 to 9:00.
A longer, and racier, version of this post is at Tenured Radical.