The Coalition is involved in several key initiatives to support scholarship about women, gender, and/or sexuality in the North American West as well as the scholars—both established and new—engaging in the field. Many of our initiatives are tied to our annual meeting, which takes place during the Western History Association Conference. At the conference, we support new and upcoming scholars through our robust mentorship program; staff a booth in the Exhibit Hall; and sponsor a pre-conference Roundtable and a Branded Session.
Mentorship Program
The Coalition supports the advancement of scholarship on women, gender, and/or sexuality in the North American West. One of the ways the Coalition seeks to build community and networks among these scholars is through this mentorship program, active since 2017.
For Mentees
Graduate students or junior faculty members can meet one-on-one with established CWWH members to discuss topics such as:
- developing research projects
- publishing one’s work (our members publish in multiple mediums)
- writing strategies
- professionalization
- preparing for the job market (including alternative academic positions)
Meetings occur in person at the WHA Annual Meeting. The program matches applicants with mentors prior to the annual meeting so that the mentor and applicant can establish contact, exchange any relevant information and materials (e.g. CVs, cover letters, etc.), and arrange a meeting time and place. Mentors commit to 30-minute meetings with mentees. Please note that the mentors will not provide writing feedback or read dissertation chapters or articles in progress.
Direct any questions or requests for mentoring to the Professional Development & Mentorship Committee Chair, Cynthia Prescott.
For Mentors
We are constantly adding to our list of available mentors. If you would like to be included on our list, please contact the Professional Development & Mentorship Committee Chair, Cynthia Prescott.
Meetings occur in person at the WHA Annual Meeting. The program matches applicants with mentors prior to the annual meeting so that the mentor and applicant can establish contact, exchange any relevant information and materials (e.g. CVs, cover letters, etc.), and arrange a meeting time and place. Mentors commit to 30-minute meetings with mentees.
Depending on the number of applicants and fit, we may or may not ask you to meet with a mentee. We appreciate your willingness to share the knowledge of your experience with other CWWH members!
WHA Exhibit Booth
Stay Tuned for More!
WHA Roundtable
The Coalition organizes a “Roundtable” to scheduled annually on the first day of the Western History Association Conference. The Roundtable aims to highlight emerging scholarship and celebrate the legacy that the Coalition and its founders has made in the field of women, gender, and/or sexuality in the history of the North American West.
Past Roundtables
2023 | “Fifty More Years of Title IX” (co-sponsored with WHA-CARES)
Chair: Erika Pérez
Participants: Sandra L. Uribe, Amira Rose Davis, Jessica Luther, Germaine L. Fairchild
2017 | “Reading Against the Grain: Doing Western LGBTQ History” (San Diego, California)
Chair: Kevin Allen Leonard (Western Washington University)
Participants: Peter Boag (Washington State University), Susan Johnson (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Amy Schindler (University of Nebraska at Omaha), Amy Sueyoshi (San Francisco State University)
2016 | “Going Public/ Going Collaborative” (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Chair: Karen Leong (Arizona State University)
Participants: Cherstin M. Lyon (California State University, San Bernardino), Lydia R. Otero (University of Arizona), Alexandra Minna Stern (University of Michigan), Gwen N. Westerman, Dakota (Minnesota State University, Mankato)
2015 | New Directions: Women, Gender, and the Making of Borders (Portland, Oregon)
Chair: Adele Perry (University of Manitoba)
Participants: Krista Barclay (University of Manitoba), Carol Archer (University of Calgary), Carla Mendiola (Southern Methodist University), Yuridia Ramirez (Duke University), Katrina Jagodinsky (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
2014 | Women Crossing Borders (Newport Beach, California)
Chair/Comment: Catherine J. Lavender (The College of Staten Island, CUNY)
Participants: Michael J. Lansing (Augsburg College), John McKiernana-Gonzáles (University of Texas-Austin), Nicholas G. Rosenthal (Loyola Marymount University)
2013 | From Sun Valley to Tucson: Three Decades of Growth in Western Women’s History (Tucson, Arizona)
Chair: Sandra Schackel (Boise State University)
Participants: Joan M. Jensen (Emerita, New Mexico State University), Kathleen Underwood (Grand Valley State University), Paula Petrik (George Mason University), Susan Armitage (Emerita, Washington State University), Elizabeth Jameson (University of Calgary), Elliott West (University of Arkansas), Mary Murphy (Montana State University)
2012 | Re-Dressing America’s Frontier Past by Peter Boag: A Critique (Denver, Colorado)
Chair: Gordon M. Bakken (California State University, Fullerton)
Participants: Sarah Carter (University of Alberta), Philip J. Deloria (University of Michigan), Colin R. Johnson (Indiana University), Susan Lee Johnson (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Karen J. Leong (Arizona State University)
Comment: Peter Boag (Washington State University)
2011 | Woman Suffrage: What Difference Did It Make? (Oakland, California)
Chairs: Robert W. Cherny (San Francisco State University), Mary Ann Irwin (California Community College System), Ann Marie Wilson (Harvard University)
Participants: Janice Lynn Dilg (Portland State University), Sue Englander (City College of San Francisco), Jarrod Harrison (Carlmont High School), Teresa Hurley (Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco), Sandra L. Henderson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Michelle Kleehammer (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Rebecca Mead (Northern Michigan University)
2010 | Mary Rothschild’s Salon (Lake Tahoe, Nevada)
Chairs: Pam Hronek (Arkansas State University), John R. Wunder (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
Participants: Virginia Scharff (University of New Mexico), Georganne Scheiner (Arizona State University), Karen Anderson (University of Arizona)
Comment: Mary Rothschild (Arizona State University)
2009 | Gender, Region, and Culture: New Voices and Directions (Denver, Colorado)
Chair: Lynne Getz (Appalachian State University)
Participants: Dee Garceau-Hagen (Rhodes College), Lori Ann Lahlum (Minnesota State University, Mankato), Lillian Marrujo-Duck (City College of San Francisco), Maritza De La Trinidad (West Texas A&M University)
Comment: Susan Gray (Arizona State University)
WHA Sponsored Sessions
The Sponsored Session Committee advances the work of scholars engaged in critical examination of women, gender, and/or sexuality in the North American West based on the following criteria:
- exhibits the work of new trends in women and gender studies in the North American West for the purposes of enhancing teaching, research, and/or the historical profession;
- honors the scholarship of one or two individuals from the field of western women’s and gender history/studies (either senior scholars, retired scholars, or deceased scholars);
- highlights the work of past Ledesma prize recipients;
- co-sponsors a session with CRAW or the Graduate Student Caucus to create an intersectional session on professional development or women’s and gender scholarship
Coalition membership is not required for Sponsored Session participation. For inquiries, please contact the Sponsored Session Committee Chair.
Past Branded Sessions
2017 | Gendering Western Scholarship: A Roundtable Highlighting the Work of Ledesma Prize Recipients (San Diego, California)
Chair: Donna Schuele (CSU, Los Angeles)
Participants: Laurie Arnold (Gonzaga University), Margie Brown-Coronel (CSU, Fullerton), Maritza De La Trinidad (UT Rio Grande Valley), Elizabeth Escobedo (University of Denver), Katherine Massoth (University of Louisville), Brianna Theobald (University of Rochester)
2016 | Honoring the Work of Gordon Bakken (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Chair/Comment: Clark Whitehorn (University of New Mexico Press)
Participants: Kathleen Cairns (California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo), Peter Reich (Whittier Law School), Donna Schuele (California State University, Los Angeles)
2015 | Sex and Sexuality in the North American West (Portland, Oregon)
Chair: Mary Murphy (Montana State University)
Participants: Lori Ann Lahlum (Minnesota State University, Mankato), Dee Garceau (Rhodes College), Renée M. Laegreid (University of Wyoming)
2014 | Thinking Outside the Book (Newport Beach, California)
Chair/Comment: Renée M. Laegreid (University of Wyoming)
Participants: Dee Garceau (Rhodes College), Anne Hyde (Colorado College), Paula Petrik (George Mason University)
2013 | Coalition for Western Women’s History Session (Tucson, Arizona)
Chair/Comment: Renée M. Laegreid (University of Wyoming)
Participants: Jennifer A. Vanore (University of Chicago), Charlene L. Porsild (University of New Mexico), Meggan Woodbury Bilotte (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
2012 | Lines of Exclusion, Crossed and Redrawn: Western Women and Professional Boundaries (Denver, Colorado)
Chair: Patti Loughlin (University of Central Oklahoma)
Participants: Gretchen A. Albers (University of Calgary), Amy L. McKinney (Northwest College), Pernille Jakobsen (University of Calgary)
Comment: Linda English (University of Texas, Pan-American)
2011 | The Legacy of Women and Gender in Public History: New Careers, Voices, and Perspectives in Western History (Oakland, California)
Chairs: Virginia Scharff (University of New Mexico), Janet Fireman (California History)
Participants: Mary Pavelsky (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), Leslie Working (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Kristin Ahlberg (Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State), Sonia Dickey (Lore of the Land, Inc.), Dorothea Crosbie-Taylor (Oakland Museum of California), Leisl Carr-Childers (Northern Arizona University)
2011 | Anniversary Session: Women and the WHA at Fifty Years (Oakland, California)
Chair: Elaine Marie Nelson (University of Minnesota, Morris)
Participants: Janet Fireman (California History), Sue Armitage (Emerita, Washington State University), Bárbara O. Reyes (University of New Mexico), Renée Laegreid (Hastings College), Melody Miyamoto (Collin County Community College)
2010 | Teaching Gender in the American West (Lake Tahoe, Nevada)
Chair: Patricia Loughlin (University of Central Oklahoma)
Participants: Fay A. Yarbrough (University of Oklahoma), Erik M. Greenberg (Autry National Center), Sarah Brynaert (L’Anse Creuse HIgh School Harrison Township, Michigan), Drew Clary (Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School), Mary Murphy (Montana State University)
2009 | Western Women’s History: Retrospective and Future Directions (Denver, Colorado)
Chair: Elizabeth Jameson (University of Calgary)
Participants: Margaret Jacobs (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Susan Lee Johnson (University of Wisconsin), Mary Murphy (Montana State University)