The Annual Conference of Mnémosyne, the French Section of the International Federation of Research on Women History (IFRWH) took place in Paris, France, on February 1st, 2020. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary since its foundation in February 2000, Mnémosyne convened a Conference on the development of Women and Gender History, looking back and forward. 20 contributions were presented and nearly 130 participants attended, among them a substantial number of students (MA Degree in Gender Studies from Lyon 2, Rennes 2, Paris 1 and Toulouse Universities).
Julie Verlaine, President of Mnémosyne since 2017 and MCF (Associate Professor) at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, welcomed all the participants, before opening remarks from Michelle Perrot, who has been among the first historians in the 1960’s to explore Women History in France. She highlighted the deep progress made in the history of women and gender in France in the past decades and called for new paths of research to be opened. Three round tables followed with the participation of 4 to 6 specialists in the field. The first one focused on historiographical issues: in the different periods of history (ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary): what have been the recent developments in scientific knowledge in the history of women and gender? The second round table dealt with the institutionalization of gender studies in France, through funding and promotion institutions (Institut Emilie du Châtelet), European Masters (Matilda) and Resource centers (Centre Hubertine Auclert). The third and final round table raised the question of the dissemination of this knowledge to circles larger than those of university research: blogs, podcasts, textbooks for secondary education, or videos make it possible to fight against sexism and to promote historical knowledge in renewed forms.
The videos of the conference will soon be available: https://www.mnemosyne.asso.fr/mnemosyne/category/colloques-journees-d-etudes/
Also, next Fall the on-line review Genre & Histoire (https://journals.openedition.org/genrehistoire/ ) will publish a special issue developing these topics.
The success of this event is above all a precious encouragement for Mnémosyne to envision in the future other means of supporting and promoting the history of women and gender, in France and abroad.