CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

This 1996 document provided a concise background history of the Center for the Study of Women and Society (CSWS) from its inception in 1977. It began with CSWS's organizing goals in 1977, which were to promote interdisciplinary research and training on topics related to the experiences and contributions of women in society. To do so, CSWS worked to provide opportunities for scholarly presentations and active organizing; acted as a liaison between City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School members and the Master's of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program's Women's Studies concentration; and provided information on job openings, conferences, fellowships, research awards, and publications. In 1983, CSWS founded the CUNY Feminist Network, which facilitated students' search for appropriate mentors. In 1985, CSWS began designing the Certificate Program in Women's Studies at the CUNY Graduate School. This was approved in the Fall of 1988 and was operative in the Spring 1989 semester. In 1987, CSWS formed the Feminist Academy to encourage members to participate in individual support and involvement through special event invitations and discounts on books from the Feminist Press. By 1996, neither the Feminist Network nor the Feminist Academy existed. The document continued with a list of activities and projects from 1984 to 1996; lists of CSWS's directors from 1979 to the time of the document's writing; a list of the Visiting Scholars from 1984 to 1997; a list of the various CSWS sponsored study groups; a list of CSWS's numerous publications; a list of the different sources of funding for CSWS activities from 1983 to 1997; CSWS governance and facilities; a list of CSWS's speakers for its ongoing speaker series from 1979 to 1996; a list of film screenings from 1979 to 1996; and a list of conferences from 1980 to 1996.