Minutes of the Meeting of Rural Women’s Studies Association Meeting
June 15, 2013
Banff Centre
List of those present:
Cindy Prescott; Katherine Jellison; Linda Ambrose; Jenny Barker-Devine; Jeannie Whayne; Rachel Kleinschmidt; Maggie Weber; Anne Moore; Barbara Steinson; Jodey Nurse; Andrea Gal; Sara Egge; Claire Strom; Pamela Riney-Kehrberg; Anne Effland; Ruth Sandwell; Amy McKinney; Margreet van der Burg; Ildiko Asztalos Morell
Katherine Jellison called the meeting to order at 7:15 am. Linda Ambrose agreed to be recording secretary to take minutes of this meeting.
1) Treasurer’s Report: Jenny Barker-Devine gave a brief Treasurer’s report and informed the group that the RWSA net assets are $11,318. Jenny will contact Debra Stiles to get detailed information about the Fredericton conference financial report for our records.
2) Edited Collection from Fredericton: This collection is being co-edited by Linda Ambrose, Jenny Barker-Devine, and Jeannie Whayne. Jeannie reported that 16 potential contributors had expressed their intention to submit papers for consideration. The deadline for submission was June 15, 2013 but the editors will extend that deadline by two weeks. The editors will be seeking volunteers to act as second readers for these submissions. Several publication options were discussed. Ruth Sandwell who is a co-editor of the “Rural, Wildland and Resource” series with McGill-Queen’s Press was present at the meeting and she expressed interest in the collection but advised the group that the press may be reluctant to consider an edited volume. There is opportunity for further discussion on this option. Another suggestion offered by Claire Strom, editor of Agricultural History, was that the editors might consider a special issue of the the journal as vehicle for publication. The timeline would be approximately 18 months of production time. Others reminded the group of the earlier volume edited by Jensen and Osterud. The editors agreed to consider these various options. Margreet van der Burg asked whether a report of the round table discussion from the Fredericton conference would be included. The editors agreed to consider this, perhaps by incorporating it into the editors’ introduction to the volume.
3) Grassroots Outreach Committee: Katherine asked if there was any update from the Grassroots Outreach Committee that was formed at the Fredericton conference. The members of that group include Vivian Holmes, Maizie Hough, and Olubunmi Ashimolowo, none of whom were present. Margreet van der Burg agreed to contact these members for an update since she will be having discussions with them about an upcoming conference in Nigeria 2014.
4) RWSA Conference 2015: The program committee for this conference includes Alyssa Ford, Meredith Quaile, Cynthia Prescott, Olumbu Ashimolowo, Teresa Konechne, and Vivian Holmes. Local arrangements are being handled by Rebecca Montgomery, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX where the History Department and the Center for Gender Studies have agreed to be co-sponsors. The date is not fixed yet but will be sometime in February 2015 at Rebecca’s discretion. The proposed theme is “Local is Global”. Discussion ensued about how to include community activists and local women in the program. Several models were discussed including the idea of having their involvement in the opening plenary session. It was agreed that the call for papers should be worded so as to welcome participation from both academic and non- academic presenters. Texas State University will be able to offer support for the conference organizers with online registration and payment. Katherine will contact program committee members and Rebecca Montgomery to settle the date and encourage them to have the CFP out by fall 2013.
5) Berkshire Conference on Women’s History Toronto 2014: Katherine Jellison and Linda Ambrose reported that as an initiative coming out of the Fredericton conference, they had coordinated the submission of 5 panel proposals for the Big Berkshire conference to be held in Toronto in May 2014. There was a great response to the CFP; the quality, intergenerational scope, variety and international representation of the papers was very impressive. The proposals were submitted in January and the program should be announced by the end of July 2013. We hope for a good representation of rural women’s themes in the final program.
6) Book announcement: Congratulations to Jenny Barker-Devine on the publication of her book, On Behalf of the Family Farm: Iowa Farm Women’s Activism Since 1945, University of Iowa Press, 2013.
7) Membership Dues: there was a short discussion about membership dues and the idea of a life membership category was suggested. Katherine will explore this with the executive.
8) Accumulating Funds: there was some discussion about plans for use of the funds that are accumulating in our accounts. Some are earmarked for scholarships to support grad students attending the triennial RWSA conference. The suggestion was made that some funds might also be put toward the cost of conference services in order to keep the registration fee affordable for all.
The meeting adjourned at 8:15 a.m.
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