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June 20, 2017 at 12:57 pm

Minutes of the Rural Women’s Studies Association (RWSA) Meeting, 2017

Rural Women’s Studies Association

Breakfast Meeting at Ag History
June 10, 2017
Minutes submitted by Pamela Riney-Kehrberg

Call to order by Catharine Wilson.  Introductions.

Announcement of Coming conference at Ohio University, hosted by Katherine Jellison.

Approval of minutes from New York Ag History meeting.

Presentation and approval of financial report for 2016.  Noted that dues can be collected today, and forwarded to Jenny Barker-Devine at Illinois College.  Look for reminders in the electronic newsletter.  See the financial report for details of the year.

Please send items to Rebecca Montgomery, our newsletter editor.

Discussion of upcoming meeting at Ohio University by Katherine Jellison.

Program chairs (Cherisse Jones-Branch and Debra Reid) have sent around a spreadsheet with submissions.  Ohio U is supporting electronic submissions.  Thirteen panels and one lone paper have been submitted so far.  Most submissions have been 20th century, very little antebellum and 19th century.  Good variety within the panels, though.  Broad geographic range.  Final submission date of June 15, 2017.

Local arrangements information available.  Dates will be May 17-19, 2018.  Tours will be arranged for the day before and after the conference.  Housing will be available May 16-20.  Rooms are in residence hall suites and are reasonably priced.  The Ohio University Inn and Conference Hotel is also available.  A meal plan will be available.  The main airport is Columbus, which is 80 miles from Athens.  The GoBus connects the Columbus airport to the OU campus.  This is the daily schedule between the airport and the OU campus. The bus makes a couple of stops in between–hence the 2-hour ride for an 80-mile trip.

Leaves Columbus at 6:35 a.m. and arrives at OU at 8:40 a.m.
Leaves Columbus at 10 a.m. and arrives at OU at 12:05 p.m.
Leaves Columbus at 3:15 p.m. and arrives at OU at 5:25 p.m.

Departs Athens for the airport at 8:50 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 5:40 p.m.

Pre-conference tours:  there is an opportunity for $5,000 grant if we include public lecture as part of our tours.  It could be on mining industry in Appalachia or architecture.  The group may make a trip to the Ridges.  Other options include a demonstration of Navajo weaving and a trip to a dairy barn, which could include a quilt exhibit. Dining at the dairy barn could also include entertainment with a revue of Appalachian protest songs. There is also a Farmer’s Market on Saturday (with transportation provided).  Post-conference tours could include a visit to a National Forest or a women’s history tour of the campus.

Updates: Earthworks in Ohio could also be a pre-conference tour.

Other RWSA news:

There was good networking done at the Berks.  There may be some panels arising out of contacts made at that meeting.  There may be a workshop on storytelling and oral history, among others.

The editor of AHA Perspectives sat in on the Berks networking.  The editor would like to have a viewpoints article for Perspectives.  See the Facebook page for details.

Linda Ambrose wanted to let newcomers know that the conference will be interdisciplinary and that there will be practitioners/activists who will also attend.

Linda Ambrose also announced a new book, Women in Agriculture, edited by Joan Jensen and Linda Ambrose, which is dedicated to the RWSA.

Catharine Wilson wanted to know where the next business meeting will be.  Moved and seconded that it will be at Ohio University in 2018.  The triennial meeting after 2018 will be in 2021 at Guelph University.  We may have a location for 2024, but details will be made available as the plan takes more shape.

Catharine Wilson discussed the conference at Guelph University in 2021.  Guelph is in the province of Ontario, one hour west of the city of Ontario.  Guelph is an agricultural university, a Canadian version of the land grant college, with 32,000 students.  It is a compact  campus, “Canada’s food university.”  Residence housing will be relatively inexpensive, and there are also reasonable hotels available.  There will be lots of sites to see nearby.  May 13-16 looks like when we might be meeting, or June 2-6.  The first set of dates will be reserved by Catharine Wilson.

Kelly Houston Jones asked people to send blog posts for RWSA blog.  Appealed for us to help Cindy Prescott out with posts.

Joan Jensen put a plug in for people to go to Cuba AHS conference and use it as a networking possibility.

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