AN
OPEN LETTER TO ALL MEMBERS
from
AMEWS President
December 2001
This has
been an exciting year for AMEWS, thanks to much hard work on the part
of my predecessor Sherifa Zuhur. She organized two conferences, one
in Bellagio (Italy) and the other at the University of California at
Berkeley in which she included a number of AMEWS officers and members.
She spearheaded the launching of a major new project, perhaps our most
significant endeavor to date, the establishment of a journal. This journal
will extend the scope of the Review to become an international venue
for scholarship on women in the Middle East and North Africa. The journal
is an important enterprise that will have an impact on the field, on
AMEWS, and on each one of us. We want to give it our best energies and
to ensure that AMEWS becomes a stronger organization in the process.
It had been
our hope that we would be able to launch the first issue this coming
year. Unfortunately, there have been some unforeseen delays. It is critical
that AMEWS not make major decisions that will affect the future of the
organization in haste and, above all, without full participation of
the membership. A year hiatus will allow us to pause for some reflection
about important work ahead in the field of Middle East Women's Studies.
Before the next annual meeting, updated information about AMEWS' planned
journal will be disseminated for membership discussion and input. In
the meantime, annual dues will remain at their current level of $35
($25 for students and $40 for institutions).
We were
delighted to note that the Review was so important to the membership,
and that many urged us to hold on to it even when the journal is launched.
Clearly, the two publications serve different purposes and the one should
not displace the other. For the coming year, we will publish two issues
of the Review, with the hope that once the journal is launched we will
be able to continue publishing at least one Review a year.
I have set
five goals for my term as president that I seek your cooperation to
achieve:
- to work
toward launching the journal with the participation and approval of
the full membership;
- to extend
our membership, and above all in the Middle East and North Africa.
The simplest approach to membership recruitment is "each one
reach one." If each existing member invited just one person to
join, we could double our membership relatively effortlessly. Increasing
the number of personal memberships will strengthen the Association's
networking function and talent base, as well as our ability to attract
regional and national speakers to the annual conference through a
healthier budget;
- to coordinate
activities with those of concerned women's groups in the Middle East
and North Africa. At the MESA annual meeting there was some discussion
about ways in which AMEWS might meet independently, e.g., coordinate
conferences with colleagues during the summers;
- to improve
communication. To that end, the AMEWS web site (geocities.com/amewstudies)
will serve as a tool for disseminating timely notices, and also general
information about the Association and its activities;
- to make
our annual meeting a time for renewed engagement in the issues facing
the Association, and to make time for fun! Committees are working
toward the realization of these goals and we will keep you informed.
AMEWS has
contributed significantly to the field of Middle East Women's Studies.
We have done this through the collective, collaborative and volunteer
efforts of many, many people for over sixteen years. This is a time
when the academy needs us and we need each other more than ever.
Finally,
please feel free to call me with comments or suggestions for the improvement
of the Association. I was elected to serve, and welcome your input.
Miriam Cooke,
AMEWS President
