The Women's Library, formerly The Fawcett Library, at London Guildhall University, recently reopened in a £7m Heritage Lottery Project on the site of Goulston Street Wash Houses. The Wash Houses were originally built in 1846 as a 'model' public wash-house to encourage habits of 'cleanliness' amongst the local population. Our second exhibition, 'Dirty Linen', looks at the history of the wash houses in relation to women's roles in cleaning things up and opens in September.

Alongside other activities we are planning a one day, inter-disciplinary symposium on 7 November 2002 exploring issues around gender and cleanliness. Papers are sought across a wide range of fields including the history of health, medicine, architecture and design, technology, education, race, gender, literary and cultural studies. The symposium will focus on the association of women with the concepts of 'cleanliness' and 'dirt' and their role in keeping bodies, clothes, homes, society and the urban environment 'clean' from c.1800 to the present day. Themes may include: sanitary reform and public health; women, dirt and the city; municipal housekeeping; physical and moral purity; domestic hygiene, interior design, domestic science; bathing; laundry; housework; technology; advertising; consumption; and whiteness.

Please send abstracts of 250 words to the address below by Tuesday 27 August 2002. Successful proposals will be confirmed by 9 September 2002.