Gender and Feminist Studies Section

Gender and Feminist Studies Section
Latin American Studies Association

Modified: 3 April, 2001

In 1972, a coalition of east and west coast feminists from the United States organized the WomenÆs Caucus of Latin Americanists (WOCLA) in LASA. WOCLA disbanded with the creation in 1982 of the TASK FORCE ON WOMEN IN LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, which is the only task force that elects its own co-chairs, and who have always included women from Latin American and the Caribbean.

On May 15, 1997 the proposed change in the LASA By-laws to restructure task forces and working groups as LASA Sections to allow for the creation of new Sections- became official. As a result of this process, the Task Force on Women in Latin American Studies became the LASA GENDER AND FEMINIST STUDIES SECTION. To date, 24 Sections have been approved by the LASA Executive Council. Members may join as many Sections as they choose, adding a fee per Section to their LASA dues.

The LASA Gender and Feminist Studies Section is dedicated to promoting networking and dialogue on issues related to women and gender in Latin America and the Caribbean, incorporating different aspects of feminist studies in the social sciences and the humanities. The Section assists researchers, students, practitioners and others interested in the exchange of ideas and academic work. The LASA Gender Section makes an especial invitation to new people to integrate as members of our Section and to participate in the next International Congress.

The LASA Gender and Feminist Studies Section also organizes other important activities: the pre-conference prior to the LASA Congress and the LASA Gender Awards. The pre-conference will take place on September 4-5, 2001 in Washington D.C. A complete information of the theme and organization of the pre-conference will be announced in the next months.

For the third time, the Section will call for participation in a competition for the LASA Gender Awards that recognize the contributions made by academics and activists. Convocations for such prizes will be announced soon.

Awards

1. The main purposes of these awards are to promote, stimulate, and contribute to the diffusion of studies on women and gender in Latin America and the Caribbean. Every period this award receives a name of a scholar whose contribution has been important for the development of women and gender research of Latin America. This award includes two first prizes of equal value that will be awarded to contestants from two regions defined as follows:

One prize for the best article by a researcher resident in the Spanish-speaking Latin American and Caribbean region,
The other prize for the best paper by a researcher resident in Asia, Canada, Europe, the United States or the English, Dutch or French-speaking Caribbean.

2. Another award is the "UNIFEM" Prize which is awarded to two articles that focus on women's struggles, their organizations or social movements, the organizations that support women's initiatives or the application of policies or programs that target or impact women. Articles may be academic works or written for a broader public. The objetive of the "UNIFEM" Prize is to promote and contribute to the diffusion of studies about women' initiatives, the organizations that support women, and the gendered nature of policies or programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The prize is named for "UNIFEM" in recognition of the important work of this organization and its generous support of the activities of the Section on Gender and Feminist Studies.

Deadline for proposals for panels and papers: October 15, 2000

For subscriptions to the LASA congress 2001 and memberships to LASA Gender section, please only contact LASA:

LASA
William Pitt Union, Rom 946
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Tel: (412) 648 - 7929
Fax: (412) 624 - 7145
E-mail: lasa+@pitt.edu
Web site: http://lasa.international.pitt.edu

For further information on LASA Gender and Feminist Studies Section activities, contact:

Edna Acosta Belén Co-Chair, LASA Gender Section Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies SUNY/Albany SS-250 Albany, NY 12222 U.S.A. Tel: (518) 442 – 4890 Fax: (518) 442 – 4790 E-mail: eab@csc.albany.edu	Mary Garcia-Castro Co-Chair, LASA Gender Section Universidade Federal da Bahia Centro de Recursos Humanos Av. Princesa Isabel 102, Ap. 402 Ed. Maria Cristina - Barra Salvador Bahia 40160 BRASIL Tel/Fax: 55 - (71) 379 - 1972 E-mail: castromg@uol.com.br
Eugenia Rodríguez Secretary, LASA Gender Section Escuela de Historia Universidad de Costa Rica San José, Costa Rica Central America Tel.: (506) 224 – 8985 Fax: (506) 224 – 9367 E-mail: eurodrig@indiana.edu (hasta Junio 29, 2000) eurodrig@ns.vinv.ucr.ac.cr
Gender and Feminist Studies Section	LASA