The Gender and Feminist Studies Section would like to remind members of the following deadlines:

1. Elections for the next Gender and Feminist Studies Section Co-Chairs (2), Secretary, and Executive Council (5 members) will be conducted in the Summer of 2001. Feel free to submit your nominations to the current Section officers no later than May 15, 2001. Please include a bio-sketch with your nomination and make sure that you have received approval from nominees before submitting any nominations. Submit your nominations to Dr. Edna Acosta-Belén, Section Co-Chair, CELAC, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, NY 12222; Fax (518) 442-4790.

2. The Call for Proposals deadline for organizing a Section-sponsored Pre-Conference is September 15, 2000, but is being extended to October 30, 2000. The Pre-Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on September 5, 2001, the day before the beginning of the next LASA Congress (September 6-8, 2001). The Section’s Executive Council will work with the organizers of the chosen proposal in securing funds for this activity. For more details see the Summer 2000 issue of the LASA Forum or the Section’s website at the following address: http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/gender.htm

3. Members interested in organizing panels or presenting papers at the next LASA Congress, to be held September 6-8, 2001 in Washington, D.C., must submit their proposals directly to the appropriate track (Gender and Sexuality) of the LASA Program Committee, using the procedure announced in the LASA Call for Papers (see http://lasa.international.pitt.edu). Proposals should be mailed to Philip Oxhorn, LASA 2001 Program Chair, Dept. of Political Science, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal PQ H3A 2T7 Canada. For e-mail inquiries write to: lasa2001@po-box.mcgill.ca; Fax (514) 398-2948. The deadline for proposal submissions is October 15, 2000. Professor Amy Lind (Arizona State University) is in charge of making decisions on proposals submitted to the Gender and Sexuality Congress Program track. Travel support requests are also submitted directly to the LASA 2001 Program Committee with your panel or paper proposal. The Gender and Feminist Studies Section does not make proposal or travel funding decisions. This is done by the LASA 2001 Congress Program Committee.

4. As in previous years, the Section will be sponsoring various manuscript awards. This information will appear on the Section’s website by the Spring 2001.
 
 

Participants in the Pre-Conference should plan to arrive Tuesday night and make your reservations using LASA hotel forms. The Pre-conference will take place all day Wednesday in the Coolidge Room of the Washington Marriot Hotel.

Panel 1: The Effects of Neoliberal Policies on Latina/Latin American Women: Making Women’s Contributions in the Global Economy More Visible

Some of the questions this panel will address are:

1) What are the effects of globalization on Latina/Latin American women,
and how do these differ from each other? How often do women participate
in national/transnational alliances?

2) What has been the impact of international financing on NGO’s and the
feminist movement?

3) Can we speak of “new feminist social movements” based on
transnational alliances, or do these alliances only happen at the
financial, administrative level?

4) How has women’s (in)visibility in the global economy, especially
given the low valorization of their labor, contributed to their
exploitation?

5) How much do Latina/Latin American women contribute to the global
economy, and how much goes unrecognized?
 

Panel 2: Beyond Imperial Eyes: The Role of Women in Imagining Race, Nationality and Citizenship in the Global-Local Communities of the 21st Century

1) How do women contribute to the changing definitions of race,
nationality, citizenship brought about by economic and cultural
integrations? How much of this interaction is a byproduct of
colonial/imperial narratives, and how much of this interaction effects
the outcomes of women’s
struggles?

2) What leadership roles do women play in the global/local communities
of the 21st century?
 

Panel 3: The Diversification of Gender/Feminist Perspectives Across Disciplines: Gains and Losses

1) Has the word “gender” lost its political connotation and has it
gained from other interpretations?

2) How have non-conventional disciplines such as cultural studies,
Latino studies, women’s studies, visual and performance arts, helped to
advance feminist studies and perspectives? Has this inter-disciplinary
borrowing effected the process and impact of the feminist movement?

Please respond to Karin Weyland, Amherst College (kweyland@amherst.edu) before April 15th, 2001 if you would like to give a presentation or attend the pre-conference. Don't forget to send a title of your presentation and a brief abstract, as well as your affiliation and contact numbers/addresses (If you have already done so, you don't need to send another proposal. We will have a complete program by May 15th).