On March 19, 2020, with great regret, we announced that the 2020 meeting of the Berkshire Conference of Women, Genders and Sexualities (the Big Berks,) scheduled for May 28-31, 2020, at Johns Hopkins University was cancelled. After extensive deliberations, the officers and trustees agreed that in light of the profound uncertainty and very real health risks related to COVID-19, and in light of our host university’s announcement about the suspension of sponsored events until further notice, it was not possible to meet as planned.
While we cannot be together at Johns Hopkins University, the spirit of the Big Berks 2020 persists. To nurture our remarkable community until we can gather together again, we are happy to share a small taste of the program as part of our Virtual Berks 2020 Conference.
Big Berks 2020 Program
Tune in on your own schedule
Peruse the Big Berks 2020 Program (PDF) for what would have been the fully live Big Berks 2020 conference. Although the in-person event was cancelled due to COVID-19, this program showcases the visions, talents, and ideas of the Berks 2020 Program Committee, Local Arrangements Committee, session organizers, presenters, and performers.
#BerksSyllabus2020 (PDF) Archive
Tune in on your own schedule
Dive deeper into the Big Berks 2020 program via this syllabus developed by graduate students in the Johns Hopkins University History Department. Each week, this seminar examined a #BigBerks2020 panel along with new readings. Be inspired to create your own syllabus!
Updated May 28, 2020
In light of the heightened awareness of the spread of COVID-19, the leadership of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians is working to plan the next steps regarding the Big Berks meeting scheduled for May 28-31, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. We know that many of you are anxious to know our plans for the meeting. We also recognize that many of you are already subject to travel restrictions, for family, fiscal, and health reasons. We will update the status of the meeting as soon as possible, and certainly no later than March 27, 2020. We will notify our members and conference registrants and provide details about next steps.
As we deliberate, we would like to share the work of the last year: a visionary, aspirational draft of the Big Berks 2020 conference program.
We would like to share the work of the last year: a visionary, aspirational draft of the Big Berks 2020 conference program.
We especially want to celebrate the breadth of thought, scholarship, creativity, and commitment that has gone into the development of this program. We want to recognize all of you who submitted proposals for the conference and the program and local arrangements committees’ hard work in configuring such a vibrant collection of scholarship, activism, and the arts.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Executive Administrator Sandra Trudgen Dawson at execadmin@berksconference.org. We appreciate your patience as we sort through the many queries we are receiving. We will reply as soon as possible.
Thank you for your consideration during these uncertain times.
The Executive Committee, Program Committee Chairs, and Local Arrangements Committee Chairs for the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.
Updated March 11, 2020
