ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN WOMEN SCHOLARS : Scholarship, Networking and Activism

The University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center has a number of things going on; and one day I will do an article on the Center. But today I am going to write about an oganization that the Center supports, and that is the Association of African Women Scholars (AAWS)

The aim of the Association of African Women Scholars is: "Promoting excellence in scholarship, networking, and activism."

The organization is "open to African WOMEN and MEN (academicians, independent scholars, activists, students, and policy makers) everywhere committed to engendering and promoting scholarship in all disciplines in African Women's Studies."

Their web page also says that individuals "who are not of African descent can join the organization as associate members. Dues at the associate membership level will be assessed at a reduced rate."


The AIMS & OBJECTIVES of the organization are:
"(1) To promote and encourage scholarship on AFRICAN WOMEN in African Studies;

(2) To forge intellectual links and network with scholars, activists, and policy makers inside and outside Africa; and

(3) To participate actively in continental and global debate on issues specifically relevant or related to African women."

The FUNCTIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION are to:
"(1) Organize and sponsor conferences and other forms of scholarly interchange;

(2) Encourage and undertake consortial/collaborative projects;

(3) Institute a refereed journal--JOURNAL OF AFRICAN WOMEN'S STUDIES(JAWS)--to promote and disseminate scholarly research on African women;

(4) Facilitate faculty and student exchanges;

(5) Create a communications network via cyberspace for the pooling and dissemination of resource information, including but not limited to works in progress, dissertations, new studies, research updates, pedagogy;

(6) Create, establish, and/or carry out any other functions and activities which may from time to time arise and are considered to be incidental and conducive to the realization of the above objectives; and

(7) Establish a Research and Documentation Unit which will produce an AFRICAN WOMEN'S BIBLIOGRAPHY SERIES on a biennial basis."


In addition to its other functions the organization has an AAWS DISCUSSION GROUP ON THE INTERNET The discussion group is open to anyone who is interested in discussing African women's issues. Requests to join the group can be made on the internet through LISTSERV@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU by sending the following message: SUBSCRIBE AFWOSCHO

The Registration Form to join the group can be found on line at: AAWS