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Loyola University’s Lakeshore Campus on the north side of Chicago was the site of the first WGHOM Conference in June 2004. With more than 120 participants, the one-day event brought together university faculty, graduate students, public history professionals, community activists, museum curators, independent scholars, and interested members of the public. On the whole, it was a successful way to begin the conference tradition that WGHOM hopes to continue on a regular basis.
- Included in the program were roundtable discussions of teaching women’s history, the nature of oral history, and Chicago women’s activism and history as well as research presentations on different aspects of American and world history through the lens of gender. Presenters came from most states in the Midwest (Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky) and from further afield (one scholar even came from South Africa).
- The keynote presentation by Prof. Nancy MacLean of Northwestern University focused on the timely and important issue of the history of job discrimination and equal opportunity in the United
  States over the last fifty years. Her succinct and informative lecture touched a chord with the audience and was enthusiastically received.
Networking: We would like for this organization to serve as a network of information on Midwestern archives, research projects, and scholars. If you’d like to see something on the webpage, please contact Stacy Cordery at Monmouth College (stacy@monm.edu).
Get involved! Our next planning meeting will be held on August 21, 2004, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Maryville University. Please contact Dr. Linda Pitelka (pitelka@maryville.edu) if you’d like to help with the conference or the organization. We need volunteers!