Dear Friends,
Thanks to those of you who have contacted us to express your concern about the recent Executive Order on immigration. Please see the following statement:
The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians seeks a vibrant and open exchange of ideas between scholars from all over the world. We condemn discriminatory actions and deplore the enactment of laws which profile and stigmatize particular groups of people based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, religion, national origin, ancestry or disability. All people are welcome to participate in events sponsored by the Berkshire Conference.
As the organizer of the largest international conference on the history of women and gender, The Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders and Sexualities, we are strongly opposed to executive orders of the kind signed on January 27th 2017 which prohibit entry of people into the United States based solely on their religion and national origin and we have registered our protest with our elected officials. Although we hope the current crisis will be resolved by June, if any scholars who wish to attend the 2017 Berkshire Conference are prevented from doing so by their immigration status or nationality, please contact us at BC2017@Hofstra.edu and we will work with you to find a way for you to participate virtually.
We have also signed the American Historical Association’s statement on the order and encourage you to read it as well:
http://blog.historians.org/2017/01/aha-condemns-executive-order-restricting-entry-united-states/
March 15, 2017 Update: The Berkshire Conference has endorsed the AHA statement on the second draft of the Executive Travel Ban.
In solidarity,
Susan Yohn
President/The Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
2017 Berkshire Conference 