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Challenging the way we view the world
Members
on the International Network of Women’s Studies Journals gathered
in Halifax this past September to discuss the challenges they face as
editors and future collaborations.
Journal editors from around the world came together in Halifax this past
September to take part in a workshop titled Writing Women In: Developing
Women’s Studies Journals in the New Millennium. The workshop came
into being, according to Dr. Marilyn Porter, at the eighth International
Interdisciplinary Congress on Women that was held in Norway in June 1999.
“At the congress, there was a small meeting of editors of women’s
studies journals, and from that we decided to develop the International
Network of Women’s Studies Journals,” she said. “We limited
it to two journals per country and we tried to recruit as many journals
from the south as we could.”
There were a total of 36 participants at the workshop, representing 24
journals and 18 countries. Journals came from India, Pakistan, Thailand,
Indonesia, Korea, Sudan, Uganda, Argentina, Uruguay, several European
countries, U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa. The journals
varied considerably. Some of them were published by universities, others
by community organizations. Yet, each journal had one thing in common
– the desire to reflect and discuss the lives of women.
The network is an opportunity for editors and managing editors to get
together, share ideas and discuss strategies for overcoming both practical
and political obstacles.
“Right now it provides support, the opportunity to talk to each other
and compare problems and solutions,” said Dr. Porter, a professor
in Memorial’s sociology department. “Ultimately, the network
will provide increasingly complex mechanisms for bilateral exchange of
guest editors, referees, editorial panel members, and more. We are interested
in publishing a print anthology of previously published articles on a
common theme, and developing a Web site.”
Participants had the chance to share the challenges and triumphs they
face as editors of women’s studies journals, and discuss possible
solutions.
“We are also considering the possibility of collaborative electronic
publishing,” Dr. Porter pointed out. “We are looking for continuities
and ways to support each other. We know that the cost of paper alone in
the south is very high, so we are considering the cost of having some
journals printed in the north, as one of our options.”
The response from participants was enthusiastic. Everyone involved was
happy to be there.
“Editing a journal is a very lonely kind of business,” said
Dr. Porter, who edits Atlantis: A Women’s Studies Journal.
“All involved were delighted to have like-minded people to talk to
and share ideas with.”
And this workshop is only the beginning for the International Network
of Women’s Studies Journals. Plans are already underway for another
meeting to take place during the next International Interdisciplinary
Congress on Women taking place in Kampala, Uganda, in July 2002. And after
that the network plans to host a workshop on editing skills. Until then
they will be busy laying the groundwork for a detailed work program, and
establishing an organizational framework for future projects.
