RWSA Triennial Conference 2021

“Kitchen Table Talk to Global Forum”

Due to the circumstances resulting from COVID-19, the 2021 RWSA Triennial Conference is going virtual. Although we regret that we can not meet in person as originally planned, we are excited about the opportunity to host a virtual conference that allows for a more diverse range of panel presentations and participants. Any paper and panel submissions that have already been made will still be considered; however, we have extended the deadline to allow for additional submissions to be made until Sept. 30, 2020.

The theme “Kitchen Table Talk to Global Forum” emphasizes how conversations, relationships, and food shape rural communities. This theme allows for the consideration of the ways that gendered, sexual, ethnic, and racial identities affect personal power, class consciousness, individual choice, and community development. These subjects lend themselves to the exploration of rural activism, social justice, innovation, politics, business development, cultural expression, self-governance, and collective experiences — both historical and contemporary — in local, regional, national, and global settings.

RWSA is an international association founded in 1997 to promote and advance farm and rural women’s/gender studies in a historical perspective by encouraging research, promoting scholarship, and establishing and maintaining links with organizations that share these goals. RWSA welcomes public historians and archivists, graduate students, and representatives of rural organizations and communities as conference participants and members, in addition to academic scholars from diverse fields, including sociology, anthropology, literature and languages, Indigenous Studies, and history.

Presentations take many forms at this virtual RWSA conference. Possibilities include workshops, panel sessions, virtual tours, interactive sessions, roundtable discussions, poster presentations, open-mic discussions, performances, readings, and audiovisual presentations. As much as possible, presentations and conference activities will take place in a synchronous environment. Virtual tours, posters, or other forms of presentations may be pre-recorded with the consent of the program committee.

The theme: “Kitchen Table Talk to Global Forum” encourages exploration of several sub-themes:

• Women and mental health
• Women and food justice
• Indigenous rural women
• Women and food tourism
• Women and technological and biological innovation (media, healthcare, equipment)
• What’s on the table (food production, preparation, rituals, hospitality, etiquette, and display)
• Women's Table talk (issues concerning family, community, politics, legislation, and markets)

The University of Guelph is known as Canada's Food University and has gained international recognition for its impact on agricultural sciences and rural life.

Please submit the following information by Sept. 30, 2020.

1. Title of paper/panel/poster/workshop/performance (working title is acceptable).
2. 200-word description/abstract of paper, panel, poster, workshop, performance, etc.
3. Brief vita/bio of presenter or panel participants and complete contact information for all.

Please indicate if your panel or workshop proposal does not fit in a typical session time of 1.5 hours. We will contact you if your proposal has been accepted.

Submissions should be sent electronically (as a single Word document or combined PDF) to RWSA2021@gmail.com.

Program Committee Co-chairs: Katherine Jellison, Ohio University, and Jenny Barker-Devine, Illinois College

Program Committee Members: Margaret Thomas-Evans, Jodey Nurse-Gupta, Tracey Hanshew, Amy McKinney, Cathy Wilson.