Sponsored by the Washington State University History Department Pettyjohn Endowment and the Coalition for Western Women's History.

Building on the tradition of previous Women's West Conferences (1983, 1984, 1987, 1990), the Fifth Women's West Conference will address the connections between place and gender, exploring the theme of Gender, Race, Class and Region in the North American West. We seek to bring together women and men of different experiences and areas of expertise to discuss scholarship and ideas, to share creative work, to relax, and to imagine new directions in western women's histories.

At this conference we want to explore several key questions raised by the notion of a "women's west." 1. What connects women and place? 2. How are social relationships based on class, race, gender, and sexuality connected to region? 3. How do issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality structure the identity of a region?

How individuals define themselves, how they define their regional identities, and how they identify their regions has varied over time and space. Consider the relationships between peoples and places in the 1790s Great Lakes, the 1890s Yukon, the 1680s Sonora, or the 1930s Dust Bowl. Yet, many of our regional icons exclude these variations and suggest instead a mythic regional person.

How does our understanding of the West change when we introduce women and men of all races and classes, when we consider the rich web of private and public relationships, of private and public power, that connected westerners? To what extent was the West the same for all Westerners and at what points did their experiences differ and with what consequences? At this conference we will look especially at the West as a region, but invite consideration of other regions as well.

Most of us now agree that regions cannot simply be defined by geography and ecology, by lines on a map. They are cultural, historical, and social as well. Region is created in part by the interactions of places and people, historical relationships that define regions and change them. This conference will explore the relationships between people and places. Recognizing that regions are geographic, ecological, political, economic, and social, we will focus on how gender, race, class, intimacy, and activism operate and connect in regional contexts.

We invite proposals that address these themes and questions and that help rechart the boundaries of regions from the perspectives of all the historical actors. Formal academic paper proposals are welcome (singly or as a group). So, too, are proposals for workshops, demonstration sessions, and media presentations. We make a special invitation to women and men from outside of the academy to participate.

The Conference will include a smaller, embedded symposium that will concentrate especially on the Pacific Northwest.

Deadline for Proposals: December 1, 1999. Please send 10 copies to address listed below.

Please include the following information: Name(s), addresses, phone, fax, and e-mail 200-word abstract/summary of paper or presentation one page vita or brief resume for each participant If more than one participant, please designate the contact person.

For further details consult the Women's West website shown below.

Program Committee:

• Annette Atkins, Chair, St. John's University
• Elizabeth Jameson, University of Calgary
• Susan Johnson, University of Colorado
• Yolanda Leyva, University of Texas, San Antonio
• Dedra MacDonald, University of New Mexico
• Shirley Ann Moore, California State University, Sacramento
• Katherine Morrissey, University of Arizona
• Alice Yang Murray, University of California, Santa Cruz
• Cynthia Orozco, University of New Mexico
• Shirley Yee, University of Washington