Women's & Gender Studies Caucus
The NeMLA Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus welcomes members interested in feminist scholarship, women’s and gender studies, and the status of women in the profession at all stages of their careers. The Caucus organizes panels, promotes publication, and fosters the establishment of networks linking senior and junior faculty including graduate students.
Nominations Accepted for Secretary and Vice President (Deadline May 31)
At the WGSC Annual Business Meeting, we addressed and explained the need to hold elections for an open Secretary position and Vice President position this summer. Per NeMLA Caucus guidelines, we need at least two nominations for each position.
Please make nominations for either office by May 31, 2021. Please email nominations to wgsnemla@gmail.com. All nominated candidates should submit a statement (no more than 350 words) to wgsnemla@gmail.com by this same deadline to expedite the process. Thus, if you would like to nominate someone else, please notify that person directly and have them self-nominate and submit their statement by the indicated deadline. After this date, an election (via an online survey) will take place; the election ballots will have a statement from each nominated candidate.
Duties for the Secretary position and Vice President position are below.
Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus Best Essay Award (Deadline January 15)
The NeMLA Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus invites submissions for the “Best Essay in Women’s and Gender Studies Award.” The award is given for a paper presented at any session of the previous two NeMLA conventions using women and/or gender-centered approaches.
WGS Mentorship Program (Deadline January 18)
The NeMLA WGS Caucus operates an interdisciplinary mentoring program, which pairs senior faculty mentors with junior faculty and doctoral students. The application process for mentees will open in late fall and close January 18. To access the application, please click here. For more information or to volunteer to serve as a mentor please contact us at wgsnemla@gmail.com with the subject "WGS Mentorship Program."
Business Meeting
At its annual meeting held at the NeMLA Convention hotel site, the Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus takes nominations for new officers and invites suggestions for speakers and topics for future NeMLA Conferences.
Caucus-sponsored Speakers
Membership
You can join the NeMLA Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus by indicating your interest on the registration form when you join NeMLA or renew your NeMLA membership.
- Faculty at 4-year institutions: $20.00
- Full-time Lecturer/Instructor: $10.00
- Contingent Faculty: $10.00
- Graduate Student: $10.00
- High School Teacher: $10.00
- Independent Scholar: $10.00
- Librarian: $10.00
- Postdoctoral Fellow: $10.00
- Visiting Faculty: $10.00
- Academic Staff: $10.00
- Administrators: $30.00
- Undergraduate Students: $5.00
Joint memberships are also available. Add $5 to the higher paying member’s dues.
Officer Descriptions and Duties
Duties for the Secretary position
This is a rolling position. Duties include:
- recording all minutes of WGSC meetings and submitting them for approval
- corresponding with all current members about upcoming elections
- creating and holding online elections via SurveyMonkey
- acting as a liaison between the Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus and the webmaster to maintain accurate and up-to-date caucus information on the website
- selecting, designing, submitting, and overseeing the coordination of the caucus-sponsored panel for the next convention
- supporting the Vice President with the WGS Mentorship Program
- drafting pre- and post-convention newsletters
Duties for the Vice President position
Duties include:
- promoting and managing the Mentorship Program
- working with the President to organize and cover convention events, particularly with Mentorship Program events
- organizing coverage of the Caucus table at the spring convention
Duties for the Board Representative position
This is a three-year position. The Board rep acts as the liaison between the Caucus and the Board, and NeMLA's administrative staff when required. The Board rep works closely with the other Board members to ensure that the Caucus and the organization as a whole both contribute to and benefit from the other's strengths. As a member of the NeMLA board, the Board Representative
- manages WGS Caucus panels including overseeing approval and rejection of all panels, publicizing the CFP for panels and then for papers and informing chairs of important information
- attends the Fall and Spring meetings of the NeMLA Board, and prepares the Caucus Board Reports for these meetings
- contacts the NeMLA webmaster for website changes related to the CFP and NeMLA Board related information, and as needed
- provides information for the caucus newsletters and for Modern Language Studies, NeMLA's peer reviewed journal
- provides the materials for the caucus table at the convention
- has opportunities to read for the Book Prize and the Summer Fellowships
- is part of NeMLA decision-making
Duties for the Social Media Representative position
This is a yearly position, volunteered for at the spring convention business meeting. Duties are primarily overseeing the Caucus Facebook page, which will include adding a few WGS Caucus announcements throughout the year and approving caucus members’ posts to the page.
Current Officers
President
Tracee Howell
University of Pittsburgh Bradford
tlh35@pitt.edu
Vice President
Forrest Johnson
York University
forj15@yorku.ca
Secretary
Maria Rovito
Penn State University
mrr354@psu.edu
Past President
Sarah Goldbort
University at Buffalo
sjgoldbo@buffalo.edu
Areas of interest: rape culture, British nationalism and theories of the nation, history of the book studies, and the Long Eighteenth Century
Representative to the NeMLA Board
Justine Dymond
Springfield College
jdymond@springfieldcollege.edu
Media Representatives
Meghan Riley
Sarah Yahyaoui