Defining activism for women: What activities? What issues? What disciplinary, philosophical, and/or religious approaches? What priorities in terms of causes? 

The history of women’s activism: What forms has acting on behalf of women taken? How have those forms evolved over time? How have the issues on which activism has focused changed? What have the points of resistance been and how have they changed over time? What shifts in cultural perception have occurred?

Education and activism: How do we train young people in relation to activism? Are young girls encouraged to think as activists in the public education system? Are there mentors and support systems for young activists on college campuses, in the workplace, etc.? What systems could we create to strengthen the presence of activism in educational institutions?

Gender and activism: Are males and females conditioned differently in relation to activism? Do they practice activism differently in terms of style, causes, organizations? Does our culture respond differently to male and female activists?

Diversity and activism: Do women from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds approach activism differently? Are there core values that women activists share across race and class? How does activism for women living in non-western cultures differ from that of western women?

The arts and activism: How have writers, musicians, visual artists represented female activists and their work over time? Can an artist be an activist? How? In what ways are artistic endeavors compatible with activism?

Responsibility and activism: How have social policies such as Title IX and affirmative hiring created new responsibilities for activism in the women who have benefitted from these advances on behalf of women? Should female athletes and corporate executives play a significant role in advocating for other women? How might that responsibility be fulfilled most effectively? Are there examples of such women whose stories need to be told?

Unsung activists: Can we begin the work of recovering and recording stories of women who have been accomplished activists at the local, national, and/or global level but whose accomplishments have not been appropriately recognized?

Activism and the future: What are the best models for motivating and mobilizing activism on behalf of women in geographic and/or ideological communities?

Submit abstracts of 300 words or less to womenstu@marshall.edu no later than 1 March 2011. For more information, contact the same address.