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The Women's Studies Network (UK) has published a detailed listing of Women's Studies courses in Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Higher and Further Education for 1991-1992. To obtain a copy write to Jackie Stacey, Centre for Women's Studies, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YL, UK.

Kristine K Schweback, CIKARD (Center for Indigenous Knowledge for Agriculture and Rural Development), associate and graduate student in International Development Studies with an emphasis in Anthropology, Sociology, and Women's Studies, is compiling an annotated bibliography on-how Gender-Differences are reflected in 1) indigenous knowledge systems, 2) indigenous decision mak- ing, 3) indigenous organizations, and 4) indigenous development approaches. Please submit any references or published and unpublished papers to Schwebach, CIKARD, 324 Curtiss Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.

COURSES

Faculty of Business, Management and Social Studies of the Polytechnic of Cen- tral London offers a Postgraduate Diploma in Women's Studies: a 2-year part- time Evening Course with occasional weekends commencing October 1991. Modules in: Women, the Family and Sexuality; The History of the Women's Movement in Britain; The Social, Economic and Legal Position of Women; Images of Women in 20C Women's Writing; Women in Political Systems; Women in the Third World; Women and Race; Women and the Media; Feminist Theory. Further details from The Faculty Office (Women's Studies), PCL, 32-38 Wells, Street, London, WIP 3FG, UK. Tel: 071 911 5000.

MA in Social Anthropology, Goldsmiths College, University of London. This is a course lasting one year for full-timers, or two years for part-timers. It is intended for people who already have a degree in the social sciences or similar and want to learn about social anthropology. All students do a course in Anthropological Methods and Theory and have a choice of two other courses including Sex and Gender, Media and Medical Anthropology. Students also write a short dissertation on a topic of their choice. For a leaflet and admissions form, write to the MA Admissions Tutor, Depart- ment of Anthropology, Goldsmiths' College, Lewisham Way, London SE14 6NW, UK, or ring the departmental secretary on 081 692 7171 ext 2180.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Women's History Network (UK) is a new group aimed at bringing together anyone involved in women's history. We are open to women in universities, polytech- nics, trades unions, schools, colleges, the media, museums, local history groups. In fact, Women's History Network is open to anybody with an interest in any aspect of women's history. It was founded in June 1991. Its aim is to forge broad links between anybody working in women's history in any form, and to promote contact be- its members via a regular newsletter carrying information about events concerning women's history, a large conference in 1992 covering many aspects of women's history, smaller regional meetings and workshops, a database containing details of members' interest areas. Membership of Women's History Network is on an individual basis only, although existing groups can register if they wish to be included on the data- base. The Network is positively interested in having the broadest possible membership and welcome members from a wide range of class and racial back- grounds. If you are interested in women's history, Women's History Network is interested in you! If you would like to join, contact Women's History Network, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WCIE 7HU, UK.

International Federation for Research in Women's History/Federation Inter- nationale Pour La Recherche de L'Histoire des Femmes. The aim of IFRWH/i+'IRFH,

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founded in 1987, is to encourage and co-ordinate research in all aspects of women's history at the international level, by promotiDy ex&hange of inform- ation and publication and by arranging and assisting in arranging large-scale international conferences as well as more restricted and specialized meetings. National Cormnittees serve as liaison between conxnunities of researchers and the Federation. Membership in IFRWH/FIRFH is primarily by affiliation of national committees. The Federation currently consists of national committees from twenty countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States of America and Yugoslavia. The International Cotemission on Historical Demography and the Societe de Demographie Historique are also affiliated with the Federation. Formation of national committees of professional historians of women is at present underway in a number of other nations. Activities of the IFRWH/FIRFH: The Board of the Federation issues a newslet- ter several times a year, keeping national committees informed of the most important events and opportunities within this field of research. It facilit- ates the interchange of information between member comunities. The first meeting of national committee represenatives was held in 1989, in Bellagio, Italy, with the assistance of the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1991 the Macmillan Press (London) will publish Writing Women's History; Inter- national Perspectives, based on papers presented at this conference, edited by Karen Offen, Ruth Roach Pierson and Jane Rendall. In early September 1990 the Federation sponsored a two-day program on the theme "Changes in Women's Lifecycles in a Socio-Economic and Political Pers- pective", during the 17th International Congress of Historical Sciences, in Madrid, Spain. The Federation also co-organized a session within the general program of this Congress on "Changing Occupations and Social Positions of Women Since the Industrial Revolutionfl. An organizational committee on future conferences is currently formulating themes and plans for other international gatherings. A small conference on "Women and the State" is being planned for 1992-93. The next major conference will take place during the 18th International Congress of Historical Sciences in Montreal, Canada, 1995. Further information may be obtained by addressing members of the interim board: President Ida Blom, Department of History, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, Norway; Vice President Ru#th Roach Pierson, Department of History and Philosophy, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 253 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1~6, Canada; Secretary-Treasurer Karen Offen, Institute for Research on Women and-Gender,. Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-8640, USA.

Gender Studies in East/Central Europe Network: A data base of individuals involved in this area of study in UK and other countries is being established. The Network will also produce a twice yearly newsletter. For full inform- ation contact Celia Hawksworth, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, Malet Street, London, WEIE 7HU, UK. Tel: 071 637 4934 ext 4030. Fax 071 436 8916.

From an open letter dated May 1991 from the National Co-ordinator of the National Women's Studies Association (USA): The National Women's Studies Association was established in 1978 to "actively support and promote feminist education, and support all feminists involved in that effort, at every educ- ational level and in every educational setting". Now, perhaps more than ever, the salience of this mission has taken on critical dimensions. Decreas- ing budgets and increasing conservatism in academic institutions threaten not only to impede but as far as possible to dismantle the hard-won progress gained in the field of women's studies over the last twenty years. Now,

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perhaps more than ever, NWSA's capacity to serve as a collective voice in the policy and funding arenas, and as a central source of information and assist- ance to individual Women's Studies programs, departments, facilities and personnel, can be decisive factors in the intensifying sturggle for continuance and growth. mSA has been experiencing significant growing pains over the last eighteen months. The perennial tension between goals of inclusion and empowerment of traditionally unrepresented groups of women engaged in feminist education, and demands on NWSA to function efficiently and institutionally as a corporate entity, has led to an internal programmatic focus on structural innovation and consciousness-raising that will allow for the fulfillment of both sets of obejctives. Towards-this end, NWSA has initiated a two-year transitional period in which issues of governance, participation and communication can be ?'ully explored and resolved. The outcome of this process - and in many ways, theprocessitselfrengthen NWSA's unity and effectiveness in both its advocacy and service roles. As NWSA's new National Co-ordinator, I do not know many of you as yet. 'J$ you are a former member, I do know that you are either a practitioner in some aspect of feminist education, or share a deep concern about its development and future.

? you are a former member, I know that you are keenly aware of

the relationsh p between the survival and continued development,of feminist education in all its myriad forms and environments, and the substance of opportunities for ourselves, our daughters, and our less advantaged sisters, to realize our fullest capacities for awareness, efficacy and equity. Your renewed support for NWSA at this time will strengthen our collective vos and the resources available for applying it in the most effective ways possible. In the spirit of new resolve, NWSA has been marvellously productive in this first quarter of the membership year: applications and nominations for awards and scholarships administered by NWSA are in the process of review and recipient selection by outstanding jury panels; final planning for the Program Administrators Conference, to be held in Washington DC in June, has been completed; the next issue of the NWSA Journal is in production; new staff is in place in the National Office; the NWSA Directory of Women's Studies Programs, Women's Centers and Women's Research Centers has been published and disseminated, as have the results of NWSA's grant-funded project, Liberal Learning and the Women's Studies Major - A Report to the Profession; the Spring issue of NWSAction has been mailed to current members. But there is so much more to do. Now, perhaps more than ever, your support - and participation as time and interests permit - is crucial. We are asking more of you, right now, as, right now, so much more is needed of us. In sisterhood, signed by Deborah Louis, National Co-ordinator, NWSA, Univer- sity of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-1325, USA.

WMST-L, a free electronic forum for Women's Studies, has just been established. Its primary purpose is to serve the academic and professional needs of Women's Studies teachers, researchers, and program administrators. The forum provides an opportunity for people to ask questions and exchange information about teaching strategies, useful texts and films, innovative courses, current research, funding sources, building Women's Studies majors, minors, and graduate programs, relations between Women's Studies and other "minority stud-

ie.9 programs, problems that Women's Studies programs encounter, etc. WMST-L also welcomes announcements about relevant conferences, calls for papers, job opportunities, publications, and the like. It is hoped that WMST-L will eventually serve as well as a file repository for course materials, curriculum proposals and projects, bibliographies and other files related to Women's Studies. Anyone with computer access to Bitnet or the

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Internet can subscribe at no cost to WMST-L. To subscribe, send the following command via e-mail or interactive message to LISTSERV@UMDD (Bitnet) or LISTSERV@UMDD.UMD.EDU (Internet): Subscribe WMST-L Your Full Name. For example: Subscribe WMST-L Jane Doe. Once you subscribe, you will receive via electronic mail all messages that are sent to WMST-L. Messages for distribution to subscribers (questions, replies, announcements, etc) should be sent to WMST-LCUMDD (Bitnet) or WMST-LCUMDD.UMD. EDU (Internet). Please note: only messages for distribution should be sent to WMST-L; all commands (subscribe, signoff, review, etc) should go to LISTSERV. If you have questions or would like more information about WMST-L, or if you have materials that you'd be willing to put on file, please contact Joan Koren- man, Women's Studies Program, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228-5398, USA. Phone: (301) 455 2040. E-mail: KORENMAN@I%Z (Bitnet) or KORENMAN@UMBC2.UMBC.EDU (internet).

Working Papers on Language, Gender and Sexism. A publication of the AILA Scientific Commission on Language and Gender: A publication devoted exclusiv& ly to sexism in language, language and gender and women's language. A new publication for researchers working in the area of language and gender. The Working Papers on Language, Gender and Sexism (WPLGA) were established in response to the increased attention given to gender and sexism issues in the study of language(s). Articles, research reports, letters of inquiry and suggestions are welcome for inclusion in WPLGS. WPLGS will enable researchers in all disciplines working in the area of language and gender to establish contact and create a network for the exchange of ideas and opinions relevant to the issues in language and gender study. The first four issues are thematically linked volumes of selected papers from the Feminist Linguistics Symposium at the International Congress of Applied Linguistics held in Greece in 1990: Issue 1 - General issue on women and language; Issue 2 - Feminist language change and policy; Issue 3 - Gender and discourse: Women at talk; Issue 4 - Women and language: Educational applications. For information on subscriptions or to submit manuscripts, write to Joanne Winter, Department of Linguistics, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia.

This month, Growing Old Disgracefully is launched as a national older women's network. Local groups will be set up, backed by speakers, a newsletter and a resource pack. A book is under preparation, to be published by Virago Press, and a video is planned. Since 1988, women over 55 have been gathering in small groups for residential weeks called Growing Old Disgracefully. Members themselves contribute sessions from their own expertise and experience, so the programme varies: usually a lot of group discussion, some creative work, some music or dance, and some exercise or swimming. But the event has always added up to more than the sum of its parts, and often by the end of the time some really significant process of liberation has occ- urred. Feelings, hopes and fears have been aired, new horizons opened up, confidence boosted and expectations expanded. The idea is that in contrast to the llgracefulll docility expected of older women, those who Grow Old Disgracefully can be playful, daring, wise and downright dangerous. Over the last three years newsletters, Round Robins and informal support networks have grown from the residential weeks, but no formal structure. At a reunion in May it was reported that, in addition to the 130 or so women who had attended the event to date, there were three times as many who had inquired about it. It seemed that the time had come to bring the two groups together, and to reach

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out to other women. While the intensity of the week-long ttsummer school" was still felt to be an essential core of the experience, local groups could give new women the confidence to undertake it, and provide ongoing contact, support, friendship and practical aid. Women who may be interested in joining will be able to write in to a central database for contacts nearest them. For more information write to: Growing Old Disgracefully, c/o The Hen House, North Thoresby, Lines, DN36 5QL, UK. Tel: 0472 840278.

Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies is a bridge between the community and the academy, featuring both scholarly and literary work, the personal essay, as well as the latest theoretical, polemic, exciting artwork alongside important contributions in the social sciences and critical thought.

Frontiers is also one of the few feminist journals to feature work by women of color and focus on women in the West. After fifteen years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Frontiers begins a new tenure as part of the Women Studies Program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Volume 12 Number 1 includes the work of Audre Lorde, Zillah Eisenstein, Beth Brant, Vicki Ruiz, Peggy Pascoe, Valerie Matsumoto and others, in a brand new, book-size format. In tribute to Zora Neale Hurston on the hundredth anniversary of her birth, this issue also introduces two previously unpublished articles by the great American ethnographer and folklor- ist. Volume 12 Numbers II and III will include new work by Adrienne Rich, Michelle Cliff, Nancy Caraway, Marge Piercy, Cherrie Moraga, Janice Mirikitani, Christine DiStefano, Patricia Zavella, and others. To subscribe write to Frontiers, University Press of Colorado, PO Box 849, Niwot, Colorado 80544, USA.

Asian Women Workers Newsletter Vol IO No 2, June 1991, focusses on Sexual Harrassment at Work. It also has many reports of women workers organising successfully in Bangladesh, Pakistan,.Korea, the Philippines, Belize, _ Hong Kong, Japan and news from other parts of the world, plus book reviews and illustrations. This newsletter is a really useful resource for women workers, especially those interested in making links between countries. It is an equally valuable resource for Women's Studies as it provides information and examples of women's struggles and solidarity. To subscribe write to Committee for Asian Women, 57 Peking Road, 4/F, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Women of Hungary by Eva Eberhardt is the January 1991 edition (No 32) of Women of Europe, Supplements published by the Commission of European Corsnun- ities. It contains short chapters on women inthe labour market, women as mothers, women and political life, and women and the law, plus a list of newly created women's groups and organizations and a bibliography. To obtain a copy write to Fausta DesCiormes, Women of Europe, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049, Brussels, Belgium.

Studies on Women Abstracts edited by June Purvis, Portsmouth Polytechnic, UK, is of immense value to librarians and all those working, teaching, studying or researching in any of the main areas of women's studies. The major focus is on education, employment, women in the family and the community, medicine and health, female sex and gender role socialisation, social policy, the social psychology of women, female culture, media treatment of women, and historical studies. Both theoretical and empirical materials are abstracted. This service is published six times a year, in February, April, June, August, October and December. These six issues constitute one volume.

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To subscribe write to Carfax Publishing Co, PO Box 25 Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3UE, UK.

Data Bank for Women in Economic and Social History: The Research Directory will list the names and research projects of all women in the UK working in economic or social history, whatever the field, and also of women or men who study economic and social history specifically relating to women. The Directory will serve two purposes: 1) to provide an interdiscip- linary network for people working on related topics specifically in the history of women; 2) to heighten women's professional profile in all areas of economic and social history. It will provide a resource for conference organizers and journal editors seeking appropriate papers and reviewers. The Funding Directory will list financial resources available for research in economic and social history at all academic levels. The aim of this Directory is to bring some order to the current academic funding situation, especially off-putting to women postgraduates, in which grant information is available in disparate indices or by word of mouth. Both Directories will be published in booklet form and made available to contributors and the public. To have details of your own work included in the Research Directory, please fill in the Research Directory form. The Directory will be regularly updated so please keep us informed of your changes of address and new research projects. If you can share knowledge of any grants available - perhaps ones which you have personally received, or which your department or institution offers - please fill in the Funding Directory form. To receive forms write to: Eilidh Garrett, Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, 27 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 IQA, UK.

Feminist Audio Books is a mail order ,

;e BVB

library of cassette tapes, for people who are blind, partially sighted or who have difficulty with the printed

*. 0 0# 0, word.. FAB always needs volunteers >;/r&/?,fiHdh75r&u& ST&CET: to read aloud onto tape in their own

‘tifill1r.N E&1)/ S4F ILL 01 IS/ dYOP homes. They are currently seeking volunteers to help with office administration: no experience necessary! Please write or telephone: Feminist Audio Books, 52-54 Featherstone Street, London ECIY 8RT, UK. Tel: 071 251 2908.

NEW PUBLICATIONS - BOOK REVIEWS

Out of the Margins: Women's Studies in the Nineties, edited by Jane Aaron and Sylvia Walby, Falmer Press 1991 UKE25 hb UKE10.95 pb. The expansion of Women's Studied has been'a major growth area in higher educ- ation during the last fifteen years. What is its present standing within higher education institutions? What is its relation to the feminist movement? What are its problems and prospects as an interdisciplinary subject; and what impact has it had upon research and teaching in the "mainstreamt' academic disciplines? A selection of papers from the 1989 and 1990 Women's Studies Network (UK) conferences, this book tackles these questions. It also considers the developing significance of previously marginalized areas within Women's Studies itself, such as Black Women's Studies and Lesbian Studies, and discusses their effect upon the subject as a whole. The book opens with overviews of the present situation with regard to Women's Studies courses in Britain, at every level from adult education and access to degree work. Subsequent papers explore the impact of feminist theory upon teaching practice and research methodology, or focus on problematic questions, such as what are the implications of entitling a course "Gender Studies" as opposed to Women's Studies? Providing examples of how Women's Studies breaks down traditional subject boundaries through its interdisciplinary corn with