"... to foster research and the creation of new knowledge about matters of central importance in women's lives" -- Jill Ker Conway List of Publications Project Planning Committee, 1998-1999 Contact Information

The Smith Project on Women and Social Change is an interdisciplinary faculty research group. Founded in 1978, the Project draws together faculty from a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, political science, sociology, education, history, exercise and sport studies, literature, psychology, religion, and economics. The Project's faculty participants are involved in research and teaching exploring women's contributions to social change and the ways in which women are affected by change. Members of the Project undertake both individual and collaborative research and translate their findings into teaching. The Project has achieved national recognition through its scholarly publications such as the award-winning Women of the Andes, Women Living Change and Learning About Women: Gender, Politics, and Power. Through the Project, Smith enjoys membership on the National Council for Research on Women. This membership links Smith to all major research universities in the United States and keeps those institutions apprised of the research of the Smith faculty. Internationally the Project has ties with the Interdisciplinary Program of Women's Studies at the Colegio de Mexico, the Centro Flora Tristan of Lima, Peru, and the Center for Women's Studies at the University Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic. The Project brings to Smith local and international scholars in various forums including work-in-progress seminars, lectures, conferences, and workshops. Current Smith faculty research projects are focused on: Gender, Authority, and Leadershiip with case studies of women's leadership drawn from politics, corporate life, and sports in the United States. Women and Work including patterns of adult female development, women's employment dilemmas and choices, the relationship between work and family, and the changing patterns of women's work. Comparative Studies of Gender, Education, and Public Policy and the role of state institutions in constructing gender options and in shaping the meaning of gender in individual and collective life. The Project draws upon the resources of the Five College Consortium (Smith, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Hampshire, and the University of Massachusetts), and the holdings of the Sophia Smith Collection and College Archives.