Women in the Archives

In 2008-2009, the WWP celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first funding. We marked the year by looking at how the field of early modern women's studies has changed during that time, and to consider how our role in serving it might adapt as well. In order to involve our community of readers in this assessment, we undertook a year-long series of activities aimed at convening conversations about the role of archives in the study of women's texts, and the role of the digital archive in shaping scholarship and teaching. From these conversations we hope to generate an agenda for research and textbase development that will guide our activities for the next decade.

These conversations have been so useful to the WWP (and, we hope, to the participants) that we now plan to hold a repeated "Women in the Archives" event each spring, in collaboration with the Sarah Doyle Women's Center and other groups on the Brown campus. Below is a record of past events and information on what is being planned for the coming year.

Women in the Archives, April 24, 2010

Papers are now being invited for Women in the Archives, a one-day colloquium co-sponsored by the Women Writers Project and the Sarah Doyle Women's Center. This year our theme is "England/New England", focusing on periodization and regionality in women's writing during the colonial period. The deadline for proposals is October 1, 2009. Please see the call for papers for details.

Women in the Archives, March 5-7, 2009

On March 5-7, 2009 the WWP hosted Women in the Archives, a two-day conference on the role of archival materials in shaping the study of early modern women's writing. The conference was co-sponsored by the WWP and the Sarah Doyle Women's Center, with generous financial support from the Brown University President's Office, the Brown University Library, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, the English Department's Zucker Fund, and the Brown University Graduate School. Our summary of the event includes links to abstracts and in some cases full papers. is The conference web site and schedule are available for historical reference. An exhibit on "women in the archives" including a fuller summary of the conference will be published at the WWP web site in summer 2009.

Revealing Women, March 22, 2008

On March 22, 2008 the WWP hosted Revealing Women, a one-day colloquium on the role of archival texts in the study and teaching of early modern women's writing. This event brought together scholars, archivists, and technologists for an initial exploration and to set the research agenda for the year. A summary of the event, with links to selected presentations, is available. The event was funded with generous support from the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Sarah Doyle Women's Center.