Abstract

In January 1977, a group of academic and activist feminists from all over the United States gathered at the University of San Francisco to found a women's studies organization. Speakers at academic women's studies sessions had called for its creation for six or more years, and a hardy band of dedicated organizers began to plan the actual founding convention at least two years before the 1977 meeting. The objectives were to create a democratic organization which promoted and protected practitioners and programs within the new field of Women's Studies in public places of power and within the university. An active member since the founding convention, the author describes her experiences in, and offers her observations on 25 years of ups and downs working on the governance of the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA). The essay also comments on the deleterious effects of working within the patriarchy. In conclusion, the necessity for extreme patience when engaging change is evidenced by the length of time it has taken to get to where we are in 2002.

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