Berkshire Conference of Women Historians

Purple wrist bands with the Berks, Women with a Past

Perhaps you already know us for our triennial meeting, The Berkshire Conference on the History of Women (“The Big Berks”). Launched in 1973, it is now the largest gathering of its kind in the world. Learn more about our 50th Anniversary Big Berks in 2023.

Members are invited to our annual retreats, where many scholars begin their relationship to the organization in an atmosphere designed to promote friendship, relaxation, and networking. Feel free to click around our site to read more about our history, our governance structure, our prizes and our committees. We hope that when you learn more about us you will want to join at the level that is comfortable for you.

Statement on Anti-Asian Hate Crimes

March 2021 marks the one-year anniversary of when much of the U.S. entered various forms of social distancing lockdown as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a year filled with loss and trauma, disproportionately experienced by those already marginalized in our societies. This public health crisis has been further compounded by the … Read the entire statement >>

Statement on Sedition

The United States is a nation founded on the ideals of democracy but also on a system of white supremacy. January 6, 2021 saw seditionists attempt to overthrow the US government and occupy the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Insurrectionists were able to occupy the Capitol because white supremacy allows white people to move freely, rebel, and inhabit their bodies – … Read the entire statement >>

Statement on “patriotic history and diversity”

On September 17, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intention to create a national commission to promote “patriotic education.” The hastily convened “conference” held at the National Archives did not advance our understandings of history, but served only to mobilize white supremacist ire with its attacks on the New York Times’ 1619 Project … Read the entire statement >>

The Trillium

The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians publishes The Trillium four times a year. Why the trillium? We chose the name for the newsletter based on a tradition in the Berks that dates back to the earliest meetings in the 1930s. Attendees of the Little Berks, held in the spring, would take a nature walk on Saturday afternoons and look for the first trillium … Read More >>

2023 Big Berks

Berkshire Conference of Women, Genders and Sexualities, 2023 Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Big Berks! 28 June - 2 July 2023, Santa Clara University, California Oceans, Islands, and Continents: Reconceptualizing the Spatialization of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Histories What does it mean to gather on the Ohlone peoples’ ancestral homeland, situated next to the San Francisco Bay, a gateway to the Pacific Ocean and Pacific Islands? What does it mean to convene, craft, share, and celebrate feminist histories in the ongoing contexts of climate … Read More >>

Berks History

Group of women historians, early 20th century

The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians was founded in 1930 by Louise Fargo Brown of Vassar College and Louise Ropes Loomis of Wells College. Initially called the Lakeville History Group, after the Connecticut retreat where early meetings were held, the organization became the … Read More »

Prizes

Two Women Fencing,. ca. 1885

The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians awards two annual book and article prizes in the following categories: A first book that deals substantially with the history of women, gender, and/or sexuality. A first book in any field of history that does not focus on the history of women, … Read More »

Contact Us

The Berkshire Conference is a member-driven organization, which means that we are eager to hear from you. Have ideas about how the website would work better for you? Let us know! Our Executive Director will get back to you within two weeks, even just to let you know how we plan to … Read More >>

Join Us

Suzanne Lacey, Between the Door and the Street, 2013. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) Forms part of: The Brooklyn Museum (Brooklyn Museum)

Become a Member The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians is a vital network of scholars that welcomes all women in the historical profession. We offer two kinds of events: our triennial … Read More »