September 5, 2003

National Women's Studies Association Conference held in New Orleans

This June more than 1200 women's studies scholars, students, and activists from around the country and the world attended the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) Conference held here in New Orleans. Susanne Dietzel, director of the Women's Resource Center, headed the local organizing committee that helped to plan the conference. The New Orleans Women's Studies Consortium, made up of faculty from five New Orleans universities dedicated to women's studies, worked for over two years to make this conference a success and to highlight the accomplishments of feminists and women's studies in New Orleans and the South. This year's conference marked the first time in almost 20 years that the NWSA has come to the South. A conference, "Southern Discomforts: Doing Women's Studies and Women's Activism in the South," focused needed attention on women's accomplishments and feminist activism in the region. To illustrate the challenges women's activists and feminists face in this region, Dietzel organized and moderated a plenary session featuring local activist Barbara Major and others.

The National Women's Studies Association works to develop women's studies throughout the world at every educational level and in every setting. As a professional organization of educators, administrators, advocates, and activists, NWSA is committed to being a forum that fosters dialogue and collective action among women who are dedicated to feminist education and change. The Loyola Women's Resource Center and the Women's Studies Committee are members of the organization.