We seek a third paper on women’s spaces of leisure and/or retreat in New
York State for a panel session at the 2012 Conference on New York State
History, being held at Niagara University on June 14-16, 2012. We are also
seeking a chair/commentator.

This session will explore places and spaces in New York State where women
have spent time outside the bounds of their ordinary day-to-days lives,
and what these places of retreat offer historians of women.

Monica Mercado’s paper examines the experiences of women attending the
Catholic Summer School of America at Cliff Haven, in Plattsburgh NY. 
Modeled on the Chautauqua movement, the Catholic Summer School functioned
as a co-ed site that allowed women to participate--albeit temporarily--in
a new upper middle-class intellectual and cultural life during the 1890s.
Megan Springate’s paper explores the history of Wiawaka Holiday House, the
oldest continuously operating women's retreat in the United States.
Founded in 1903 as a place where women working in nearby textile mills
could escape the city for a vacation at discounted prices, Wiawaka is
currently the subject of an archaeology project Springate is conducting at
Lake George, NY (for more on her research site see
http://www.wiawakaproject.com/).

Diverse theoretical perspectives and innovative methodological approaches
to the topic are welcomed. We are also open to research from any time
period in New York State history. Potential sites of interest include
women's social clubs, artist's retreats, YWCA's, women's sports teams, and
scouting.

If you wish to be a panelist, please submit an abstract of up to 300
words, your paper title, and a short biographical paragraph to Monica
Mercado ([log in to unmask]) and Megan Springate
([log in to unmask]) by Thursday, December 15. If you are interested
in serving as a commentator, simply contact us. Our panel proposal is due
to the conference organizers by the end of December.

Best,
Monica and Megan

 * * *

Monica Mercado
PhD Candidate, Department of History
Fellow, Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
University of Chicago
[log in to unmask]


Megan E. Springate, RPA
Doctoral Student, Department of Anthropology
University of Maryland
[log in to unmask]